Grasshoppers and Crickets

Reprint of an article that appeared in the Summer 2011 Edition of Common Ground.

By Ian Beavis.

Late summer is the peak period for seeing – and in some cases hearing – grasshoppers and crickets. We regularly find them on our Museum mini-beast safaris in August, and the question always asked is how to tell the difference between the two. The answer is easy: grasshoppers have short antennae, much shorter than the body, while crickets have very long, thread-like antennae.

There are three species of grasshoppers and five crickets found on the Commons. All of them live in grass or other low vegetation, with the exception of the pale green Oak Bush-cricket. This lives high up in trees and is rarely seen unless it gets blown down or is attracted to lights at night. Grasshoppers and some crickets can be recognised by their characteristic songs, made by rubbing their hind legs against their wings, and used by the two sexes to communicate with each other while remaining camouflaged among foliage. The easiest song to pick out is the monotonous chirp of the Field Grasshopper, while its relatives the Meadow Grasshopper and Common Green Grasshopper have a more complex song that starts softly, builds in volume and suddenly cuts off.

Each of these three grasshopper species is found in a bewildering variety of colours. They can be various shades of brown, green or even purple, or any combination of these. All are useful for camouflage, and clearly none has an overriding competitive advantage, so all coexist in the gene pool. To identify grasshoppers, it is necessary to ignore the colour and focus on structural features. Field Grasshoppers have abundant white hairs on the underside, clearly visible in profile, and long wings. Common Green Grasshoppers also have long wings but lack the hairs. Meadow Grasshoppers have wings that are clearly shorter than the body, less than half its length in the case of the female.

Crickets are much less variable. The Oak Bush-cricket is one of two fully winged species, the other being the wonderfully named Long-winged Conehead, easily recognised by its pointed head. This used to be a rare species of wetlands, but in recent years it has spread much more widely.

Roesel’s Bush-cricket is also much commoner than it was, and is characterised by a bright yellow or green U shape on the side of its body, contrasting with a darker background. The remaining species have always been widespread. These are the large dull brown Dark Bush-cricket and the smaller Speckled Bush-cricket, which is green but peppered with innumerable tiny black specks.

Druids on the Common?

Interesting story in the local newspaper last week about Druids worshipping on the rocks on the Commons. Even a temple being in the ground! Did you read it? Can you shed any more light or is it just a load of gibberish?

Birding Journal – Redwing

Latin name: Turdus Iliacus
Size: Slightly littler than a song thrush
Sound: High, thin seesee

The heavy snow we’ve experienced has forced many birds who normally would be too shy to show themselves to be a bit bolder in their quest for food. The bad news is that this puts them at greater risk from predators, but the good news for birdwatchers is that it’s been bonanza season, with many of us seizing the opportunity to spot some usually tricky species with increased ease. Even Bitterns have been reported spotted out in the open, which is usually unheard of. Sadly I can’t report that I’ve seen anything that rare on the common, but I have seen an unusual amount of usually timid redwings. I’m sure if you’re familiar with this bird you’ll agree that this is a pleasant treat.

The redwing is a regular winter visitor to the common. They fly in from Scandinavia – few pairs actually breed in the UK. They are the smallest and – give or take a fieldfare or two – prettiest of the thrush family. The first time we saw one scrabbling around in the undergrowth my husband did indeed think it was a song thrush, but a flash of it’s chestnut-red underwing and beautiful yellow striped eye showed that this was something rather more special.

A good place to see them is the grass outside the front of the Spa Hotel where you can see gangs of them feeding on the ground. First time I saw them there, there were so many of them, and their behaviour so uncharacteristically bold, that for a split second I thought I was looking at a flock of starlings.

As long as we keep them well fed during these bleaker days, 2010 should prove to be a great year for our birds. The cold snap is good for killing off viruses and Spring shouldn’t come too early this year, so we’re hopefully back to “proper” seasons, with birds being born at the right time, rather than being lured into the world early with nothing suitable to eat. So make sure whilst we’re in this cold snap, to dangle those fat balls with gay abandon!

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Butterflies in Love

A couple of butterflies enjoying the lovely weather by Wellington Rocks.

Badgers in the night

I caught this badger galloping down Upper Street at night. It saw me sitting on the doorstep, but carried on with its business. I followed it into the neighbours’ garden (that’s not my gnome on the wall) and managed to get quite close. Have you seen badgers on the Commons? How about the deer?

Lizard sighting in Rusthall?

Spotted in Denny Bottom: a lizard-like object making its way up one of the old oaks in Apsley Street. From a distance, it looked mostly brown, with a white head. At first, we wondered if it was a tree creeper, but it was scuttling up the trunk with a fast, erratic gait. A neighbour suggested it could be a baby squirrel. But are there any strange lizards in Rusthall?

Frog season at Happy Valley

Froggy mayhem at the Beacon Lakes.

Frogs usher in the spring in Rusthall

In early March, the Beacon Lakes were seething with frogs.