Southern Oak Bush-cricket - Meconema meridionale

Description

Adult 14 to 17 mm in length. A pale green bush-cricket with a creamy-yellow dorsal stripe and two reddish spots on top of the pro-thorax. The female has a long, slightly upturned ovipositor, while the male has long curved cerci. Both sexes have vestigial wings and are flightless. It is only readily separated from the Oak Bush-cricket as an adult, because the wings remain as tiny flaps. Even at this stage it could be overlooked as a large nymph of our commoner species.

Identification difficulty
Habitat

An arboreal species found in oak woodland but also on other deciduous trees and on hedgerow shrubs.

When to see it

Summer.

Life History

Carnivorous, arboreal and nocturnal, it is a predator of the Horse Chestnut Leaf Miner.

UK Status

A recent British colonist, first recorded from Surrey and Berkshire in 2001, and already recorded as far north as Nottinghamshire by 2012. This follows a well-documented expansion from southern Europe over the past few decades.

VC55 Status

Rare in Leicestershire and Rutland.

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2020+ | 2015-2019 | pre-2015

UK Map

Species profile

Common names
Southern Oak Bush-cricket
Species group:
Grasshoppers & Crickets
Kingdom:
Animalia
Order:
Orthoptera
Family:
Meconematidae
Records on NatureSpot:
13
First record:
02/10/2016 (Pearce, Ray)
Last record:
13/08/2023 (Lewis, Steven)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

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