# 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.

- **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.

## About

Tessellana tessellata is a species of katydid known as the brown-spotted bush-cricket or tessellated shieldback .

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/a9e2f250-6f07-4bcb-94fb-0bcdb998ccc6
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/318470
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tessellana tessellata
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/1157281/medium.jpg (Gilles San Martin from Namur, Belgium, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.