How do they look?

Bush crickets, or katydids, are green or greenish-brown insects with brownish markings. They have long antennae that are longer than their bodies.

Where do they live?

Bush crickets inhabit meadows, fields, shrubby areas, and often even trees.

What do they eat?

They feed on both plants and smaller insects (predatory species are found in the tropics).

Interesting and important facts

In Latvia, there are nine species of bush crickets. More commonly, you can find great green bush cricket (which is the largest among the bush crickets in Latvia) and common green grasshopper.

Bush crickets, by rubbing one wing against the other's base, produce a distinctive chirping sound. Only males chirp, attracting females with their song. Bush crickets hear using their eardrums, one located on each front leg.

Females are characterized by a well-visible, long, spear-shaped ovipositor.

Larvae hatch from the eggs in spring, and mature bush crickets are visible in midsummer, but they perish already at the beginning of autumn. The last bush crickets can still be seen in October.

Information sources: Wikipedia, Kreslina L. ‘Insects in Latvia’

Photo: pixabay.com