Tettigonia viridissima (Linnaeus, 1758)

Great Green Bush Cricket

Taxonomy: 

  • Orthoptera›Ensifera›Tettigonioidea›Tettigoniidae›Tettigoniinae›Tettigonia viridissima

Status: 

UK

Distribution

Recordings

  • Calling song at lower temperature.
  • Calling song.
  • The faster sound of the Great Green Bush-Cricket heard in hot weather, recorded with a bat detector.
  • The typical sound of the Great Green Bush-Cricket recorded with a bat detector

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.

Open the NBN Atlas interactive map in a new window.

Description: 

Very large, leaf green cricket with a brown stripe along the back. The female has a long, slightly down-curved ovipositor.

Size: 

40 - 55 mm

Wings: 

Both sexes have long wings that extend beyond the tip of the abdomen.

Stridulation: 

Loud and penetrating song that can be heard over a long distance. It is performed from the late afternoon into the night, often from bushes or trees.

Food: 

Omnivorous, eating a variety of plants and insects.

Habitat: 

Overgrown hedges, bramble and bracken. Coastal scrub. Eggs are laid in the ground where they overwinter.

Phenology: 

Nymphs emerge in May and June. Adults present from late July until early winter.