Things in Unusual Places #19: Cricket

A cricket on our bedroom wall

Do you find August is the grasshopper and cricket month? They're the musical accompaniment to my allotment visits, with plenty of buzzing but not seeing going on. I even heard a familiar buzz at our bedroom window one morning last week, but thought no more about it.

Then a couple of days later I found this little chap on our way to bed. He seemed quite content, simply gently waving his antennae from time to time.

I haven't quite nailed the ID, but the long antennae shows it's a cricket rather than a grasshopper. I'm favouring the oak bush-cricket from Orthoptera's online ID sheet, as it says they can be nocturnal and may be attracted to light and found indoors.

I've also submitted my sighting to their recording scheme as they are looking to see how the populations of grasshoppers and related insects are changing in the UK. It seems my dahlia's earwig populations are also useful for this scheme!

Have you found anything unusual or unexpected lately?

 Update 25th August: I felt something odd crawling up my leg last night. I switched on the light to find the cricket was gently waving its antennae at me. It's been returned outside.

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