Brown-spotted Bush-cricket
Tessellana tessellata
Their song is so high-pitched and quiet that many humans struggle to hear it without the aid of a bat detector.
- Scientific name
- Tessellana tessellata
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Orthoptera › Tettigoniidae › Tessellana
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- grassland
- Habitat
- Dry, sunny grasslands, meadows, and open scrublands.
- Diet
- Omnivorous, feeding on grasses, herbaceous plants, and occasionally small soft-bodied insects.
- Range
- Southern Europe, Central Europe, North Africa, Western Asia
- Size
- 13 to 18 mm in length
- Lifespan
- 1 year (from spring egg to autumn adult)
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Agricultural intensification, overgrazing, and pesticide application.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. Safe to observe closely. Avoid handling to prevent stress, though they may deliver a tiny, non-venomous pinch with their mandibles if squeezed. If bitten, simply wash the area with soap and water.
Tessellana tessellata is a species of katydid known as the brown-spotted bush-cricket or tessellated shieldback .
Photo: Gilles San Martin from Namur, Belgium, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist
Plain-text version: /species/a9e2f250-6f07-4bcb-94fb-0bcdb998ccc6.md