Great Green Bush-cricket
The great green bush-cricket (Tettigonia viridissima) is a large, bright green insect of Europe and Asia, and one of the loudest singers of summer meadows. Despite the name, bush-crickets are katydids.
The great green bush-cricket (Tettigonia viridissima) is a large, bright green insect of Europe and Asia, and one of the loudest singers of summer meadows. Despite the name, bush-crickets are katydids.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Great Green Bush-cricket in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Ecdysozoa lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
Singing With the Wings
Males sing by rubbing a scraper on one forewing against a file on the other, producing a loud, continuous buzzing "song" that can be heard from far away, mostly at dusk and in the evening. Females answer and walk toward the male.
Ears on the Knees
Bush-crickets hear with tympanal organs on their front legs, just below the knee, which are tuned to the frequencies of their songs. The long ovipositor of the female, shaped like a sword, is used to lay eggs in soil.
Predators and Prey
They eat other insects and plants, and green camouflage hides them in tall grass. See Desert Locust.
Great Green Bush-cricket at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Tettigonia viridissima |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Class | Insecta |
| Order | Orthoptera |
| Family | Tettigoniidae |
| Field Guide group | Ecdysozoa: Hexapoda (Insects) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Leaf-green with very long thread-like antennae, powerful jumping hind legs, and a loud song made by rubbing its forewings. |
| Order | Orthoptera |
| Hearing organs | On the front legs |
See Also
- European Mole Cricket — a burrowing cricket
- Desert Locust — another orthopteran