One of the joys of childhood is discovering grasshoppers and crickets, insects that crawl slowly and then jump enormous distances to escape, sometimes unfurling their wings to disappear altogether.
This summer has been good for many of the species that live in the UK. This is the peak time to see adults, when nymphs have spent the summer growing to maturity and are breeding. Grasshoppers are mostly seen in the day and crickets at dusk when the males begin to rub their wings together to attract a mate.
One cricket type that is a success story in Britain is the long-winged conehead, Conocephalus fuscus, once on the red list of endangered species, confined to coastal areas in the south and south-west.
The climate crisis has enabled it to spread north beyond the Midlands and it is now described as common. It can be seen on rough grassland, parks and in woodland. Cone-heads are green with a brown strip on the back and have long wings, and while only 2cm long they have exceptionally long antennae.
Hearing their soft hissing call is easier for children but can be easily picked up by a bat detector. Females make a hole in grass stems to lay their eggs to overwinter, hatching in the spring.
