The Speckled Bush Cricket (Leptophyes punctatissima), as its suggested by its name, is covered in tiny, black speckles. It can be found in scrub, hedgerows and gardens throughout summer, mainly in Central and Southern England, and around the Welsh coast.
The Speckled Bush-cricket is green with a covering of tiny black speckles, and an orangey-brown stripe down its back. It has a humpbacked appearance and very short wings. The female has a distinctive scimitar-shaped ovipositor. It prefers rough vegetation, scrub and hedgerows, and is also found in gardens. It can be seen perching on bushes, window ledges, flowers and leaves, particularly Bramble. Speckled Bush-crickets emerge as nymphs in May and moult into their adult form during later summer. Most active at dusk and during the night, males call to attract females by rubbing their wings together, but their 'song' is barely audible to human ears. Females lay their eggs in late summer in the bark of a tree or a plant stem; here, they overwinter, ready to emerge next spring.
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