Decticus verrucivorus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Wartbiter
Taxonomy:
- Orthoptera›Ensifera›Tettigonioidea›Tettigoniidae›Decticinae›Decticus verrucivorus
Status:
Distribution
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Recordings
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Calling song. One verse.
Colours show the year of the last record -
| up to 1987 | 1988-97 | 1998 up to present |
Only Recording Scheme datasets are included. Other datasets on the Gateway may hold additional information.
Description:
Typically found as the green form in England, which is speckled with black wing markings, and has large, dark eyes. Frog-like appearance with powerful hind legs. The ovipositor is curved slightly upwards – unlike in the Great Green Bush Cricket.
Size:
Wings:
Both sexes have wings that reach or slightly exceed the end of the body. Due to its weight, however, the species is flightless.
Stridulation:
Fairly loud and distinctive, rapidly repeated clicks that often start slow and get faster.
Food:
Omnivorous, eating herbs but also insects including other grasshoppers.
Habitat:
Complex and specific mosaic of bare ground and long and short turf – in chalk downland or heathland. Eggs are laid in bare soil next to clumps of grass.
Phenology:
Eggs remain dormant for at least two years and hatch in April. Adults present from July until autumn.