Perhaps the most common cricket about these days and one we see widely in the area in general, but only occasional spot one in the garden. In 2021 we only once recorded this species (the image below).
Easily recognisable by the scattering of speckles over the body. In this case a male looking rather smart.
As one would expect these are amazing jumpers and it’s hard to imagine anything catching one as they seem to have excellent eye sight. That said, male below was a bit slow to spot me, so I was able to catch him just before he hopped off…
We have seen females before, but have always failed to get a decent photograph. This is a real shame as the ovipositor is extremely impressive, almost like a giant (relatively speaking) blade.
These guys are herbivores and we understand not especially fussy, so it is surprising we don’t spot them more often, although they are extremely well camouflaged.
Wildlife Garden 