Rough Saddle Bush-cricket
Uromenus rugosicollis
The 'saddle' is actually an enlarged pronotum; because this species is flightless, its wings have evolved into specialized tools used almost exclusively for singing.
- Scientific name
- Uromenus rugosicollis
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Orthoptera › Tettigoniidae › Uromenus
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- grassland
- Habitat
- Mediterranean shrublands, garrigue, maquis, and dry grasslands with tall herbaceous vegetation.
- Diet
- Omnivorous, feeding on a variety of plants, flowers, and occasionally small, slow-moving invertebrates.
- Range
- France, Spain
- Size
- 25-35 mm
- Lifespan
- 6-10 months
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat loss from urban expansion and the use of broad-spectrum insecticides in agricultural bordering zones.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless to humans. It is a slow-moving insect that may attempt to pinch with its mandibles if squeezed, but it possesses no venom or sting. Observe from a few inches away to see its textured exoskeleton.
Uromenus rugosicollis is a species belonging to the family Tettigoniidae subfamily Bradyporinae. It is found in Spain and the Pyrenees to southern France.
Photo: Gilles San Martin, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist
Plain-text version: /species/8fa13415-e905-4e9c-8f7c-133f5bfecde8.md