Sickle-bearing Bush Cricket

Appearance

The Sickle-bearing Bush-cricket is medium size grasshopper with a pale green body covered with black spots. It can be identified by its wings which are much longer than the elytra.
The length of the antenna can reach four times the length of the body.
The female's abdomen ends with a sharply upturned ovipositor.

It is difficult to differentiate from the Common Green Bush-Cricket or Mediterranean Katydid (Phaneroptera nana), present in the Mediterranean Basin and whose range is extending northwards.
The clues which can help to identify between both species are:
- The Mediterranean Katydid has thicker thighs.
- The Mediterranean Katydid female's ovipositor shows a continuous curve, the Sickle-bearing Bush-cricket female's ovipositor shows a sharp right angle turn.
- On a side view, the Sickle-bearing Bush-cricket pronotum's width is longer than its height, the Mediterranean Katydid's pronotum can fit in a square shape.

Distribution

Phaneroptera falcata is found in Europe and Asia. It has been extending the northern limits of its range in mainland Europe in recent decades. Vagrant adults are occasionally found in Britain, and a small, but apparently established, colony was discovered near Dungeness in Kent in 2015.

In the Czech Republic Phaneroptera falcata was known to be widespread only in southern and central Moravia till the year 2000. During the last years, quick expansion to northern Moravia and Silesia (Moravian-Silesian region) has been observed. Based on the sequence of findings, consecutive spreading through Bohemia is also supposed. Phaneroptera nana was published from southern Moravia firstly in 2002 with findings from 1992 and 2001. At the present time, occurrence in nine localities is confirmed with the northernmost finding in Brno. Climatic changes associated with the current global warming trend in the last decades together with the increase of abandoned fields and meadows are probably the main reasons of the expansions.

Behavior

The Sickle-bearing Bush-cricket can fly a relatively long distance when frightened.

Reproduction

Females lay the eggs on shrub's leaves, particularly on Blackthorn.

Food

The Sickle-bearing Bush-cricket mainly feeds on plants.