| Great green bush-cricket | |
|---|---|
 | |
| T. viridissima, male | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Orthoptera |
| Suborder: | Ensifera |
| Family: | Tettigoniidae |
| Subfamily: | Tettigoniinae |
| Tribe: | Tettigoniini |
| Genus: | Tettigonia |
| Species: | T. viridissima |
| Binomial name | |
| Tettigonia viridissima | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Tettigonia viridissima, the great green bush-cricket, [1] is a large species of bush-cricket belonging to the subfamily Tettigoniinae. [2]
This species can be encountered in most of Europe, in the eastern Palearctic realm, in the Near East, and in North Africa, [3] especially in meadows, grasslands, prairies and occasionally in gardens at an elevation up to 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) above sea level. [4]
The adult males grow up to 28–36 millimetres (1.1–1.4 in) long, while females reach 32–42 millimetres (1.3–1.7 in). [4] This insect is most often completely green (but there are specimens completely yellowish or with yellow legs), excluding a rust-colored band on top of the body. [4] The organ of the stridulation of the males is generally brown.
Tettigonia viridissima is distinguished by its very long and thin antennae, which can sometimes reach up to three times the length of the body, thus differentiating them from grasshoppers, which always carry short antennae. It could be confused with Tettigonia cantans , whose wings are a centimeter shorter than the ovipositor, or Tettigonia caudata , whose hind femurs bear conspicuous black spines.
The morphology of both sexes is very similar, but the female has an egg-laying organ (ovipositor) that can reach a length of 23–32 millimetres (0.91–1.26 in). It reaches the end of the elytra and is slightly curved downward. [5]
The larvae are green and as the imago show a thin brown longitudinal stripe on their back. The ovipositor can be seen from the fifth stage; the wings appear in both genders from the sixth stage.
Tettigonia viridissima is carnivorous and arboreal. Its diet is mostly composed of flies, caterpillars and larvae. [4] Unlike grasshoppers, it is essentially active in day and night, as testified by its endless crepuscular and nocturnal singing. [4] The species can bite painfully but is not particularly aggressive. It is best to avoid holding the insect in the fist, as that almost guarantees a bite. They can fly, but they tend to avoid flying where possible. Most often they move "on foot" or jumps, which allow them to travel about in bushes and trees.
Insects in the family Tettigoniidae are commonly called katydids or bush crickets. They have previously been known as "long-horned grasshoppers". More than 8,000 species are known. Part of the suborder Ensifera, the Tettigoniidae are the only extant (living) family in the superfamily Tettigonioidea.
Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago.
The Mormon cricket is a large insect native to western North America in rangelands dominated by sagebrush and forbs. Anabrus is a genus in the shield-backed katydid subfamily in the Tettigoniidae family, commonly called katydids, bush crickets, and previously "long-horned grasshoppers". Its common name, "Mormon cricket", is a misnomer: true crickets are of the family Gryllidae.
Roesel's bush-cricket, Roeseliana roeselii is a European bush-cricket, named after August Johann Rösel von Rosenhof, a German entomologist.
The wart-biter is a bush-cricket in the family Tettigoniidae. Its common and scientific names derive from the eighteenth-century Swedish practice of allowing the crickets to nibble at warts to remove them.
The speckled bush-cricket is a flightless species of bush-cricket belonging to the family Tettigoniidae. The species was originally described as Locusta punctatissima in 1792.
Meconema thalassinum is an insect in the family Tettigoniidae known as the oak bush-cricket and drumming katydid. It is native to Europe, including the British Isles, and was introduced to the United States, first established in the west of Long Island and extending its range to Rhode Island and Scarsdale, Stony Brook, and Ithaca, New York.
Crickets are orthopteran insects which are related to bush crickets, and, more distantly, to grasshoppers. In older literature, such as Imms, "crickets" were placed at the family level, but contemporary authorities including Otte now place them in the superfamily Grylloidea. The word has been used in combination to describe more distantly related taxa in the suborder Ensifera, such as king crickets and mole crickets.
Xeris spectrum is a kind of horntail or wood wasp, that lives in coniferous forests. It is large wasp with a powerful ovipositor in females. Unlike other Siricid Wood wasps, Xeris spectrum does not have symbiotic fungi to aid its larvae as they burrow in the wood of fir and other conifer trees making it unique in the Siricidae. It is widespread and is found in large parts of Europe, Asia, Africa and North America.
Tylopsis lilifolia, the lily bush-cricket, is a species of Orthopterans in the subfamily Phaneropterinae. It is found in Europe and Asia.
Tettigonia cantans is a species of bush crickets belonging to the family Tettigoniidae subfamily Tettigoniinae.
Tettigonia is the type genus of bush crickets belonging to the subfamily Tettigoniinae. The scientific name Tettigonia is onomatopoeic and derives from the Greek τεττιξ, meaning cicada.
Yersinella raymondii, common name Raymond's bush-cricket, is a species of "katydids crickets" belonging to the family Tettigoniidae subfamily Tettigoniinae. The scientific name Yersinella comes from the name of the entomologist who has described the species in 1860.
Pholidoptera griseoaptera, the dark bush-cricket, is a flightless species of European bush-cricket; it is the type species of its genus with no subspecies.
Oecanthus pellucens, common name Italian tree cricket, is a species of tree crickets belonging to the family Gryllidae, subfamily Oecanthinae.
The Copiphorini are a tribe of bush crickets or katydids in the family Tettigoniidae. Previously considered a subfamily, they are now placed in the subfamily Conocephalinae. Like some other members of Conocephalinae, they are known as coneheads, grasshopper-like insects with an extended, cone-shaped projection on their heads that juts forward in front of the base of the antennae.
Plagiotriptus pinivorus, the African pine-feeding grasshopper, is a species of thericleid orthopteran. It is native to eastern Africa where it is usually found in areas with moderate or heavy rainfall, mostly in the range 1,525 to 2,135 m, but sometimes at lower elevations down to about 500 m (1,640 ft).
Ephippiger perforatus, the North Apennine saddle bush-cricket, is a species of insect in the family Tettigoniidae.
Caedicia simplex is a species of bush cricket or katydid, native to New Zealand and Australia. A common name is the "common garden katydid".
Ephippiger terrestris, common name Alpine saddle-backed bush-cricket, is a bush cricket species belonging to the family Tettigoniidae, subfamily Bradyporinae.
Data related to Tettigonia viridissima at Wikispecies
Media related to Tettigonia viridissima at Wikimedia Commons