Can someone help me with this please?

JacquiB · Post by **JacquiB** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 1:13 am

I know this is about butterfly id's, but you all seem very knowledgeable and I have no idea what this is, please can anyone help?
If it's a butterfly it's not like any I've seen, the same applies to dragonflies and it's not a lacewing, I don't know much about moths.

Head to tail length is about 1"+; it's antenna are over 2 times it's body length; it had four wings; six legs; an earwig look to it's tail end and lime green in colour.

I live in the countryside and have quite a variety of butterflies, moths, dragonflies and other flying insects around. I found this creature floating early one morning on my new, 6 month old pond. The pond has sticklebacks and normal water life; no non-native weed and two or three waterlilys, but the pond seems too new for anything to have hatched from there. It's body looked soft, but that could have been from the water, one underwing was damaged.
The photos of the subject in question are quite large, so I've put two of them on a spare web page at www dot zest-it dot com/bitsbobs dot htm they are too big for here.

I hope someone can help, thank you in anticipation, Jacqui

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 7:44 am

It looks like a bush-cricket to me... I don't have any books nearby to confirm, but the long antennae, green colour and 4 wings are all consistent with crickets

Dave Mac · Post by **Dave Mac** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 8:18 am

I dont have a clue but to make it easier for somebody else to ID it I copied it from your site

Dave

JacquiB · Post by **JacquiB** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 11:34 pm

Thank you Dave for putting the photo up.

Thank you Chris, you set me on the right track, digging around on the net tells me it's an Oak Bush Cricket - there is an Oak tree near the pond!!!
I have never seen a cricket before, let alone a dead one with chewed off legs, I also didn't know they were night flyers.

So again, many thanks for solving the problem Chris,
Jacqui

COLIN BAKER · Post by **COLIN BAKER** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 8:39 am

Hi Jacquib

After a time searching this one on the internet I'm sure its a male Oak Bush Cricket.
On the American site I found, they name it differently but it carries the correct latin name.
See it on http://buzz.ifas.ufl.edu/103pm2.htm

Hope this helps

Cheers

Colin

JacquiB · Post by **JacquiB** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 8:15 pm

Hi Colin,

Thank you for your help, I thought that was an excellent photo you found. Good to know what it looks like as a live cricket, apparently not many people get to see them, alive or dead, so I feel quite privileged.

Thanks, Jacqui