Best time to see: Jul to Oct

Key facts

A slender bush-cricket found in tall, damp grassland

Once restricted to the south coast of England, but extending its range northwards (because of climate change?)

Bush-crickets (unlike grasshoppers) have long antennae, feed on other insects and are mainly nocturnal

Recognition

Green with brown wings extending beyond the end of its body, and a brown stripe on top

Song is a soft prolonged buzz, inaudible except at close range (and for some people, not at all)

Body up to 22mm; slightly upcurved ovipositor almost as long again

Lifecycle

Females lay their eggs into the stems of grasses in late summer, where they over-winter

Nymphs appear from late spring onwards, reaching maturity in July