We’ve left a few patches of longer grass around the garden this year, allowing it to mature and flower and I’m convinced this is part of the reason we’ve had such a bumper year for several insect species including C Brunneus.
Creating another more accessible habitat like this, alongside the more established wilder parts has been pretty rewarding, since by their very nature, the wilder areas are left to their own devices. By contrast, areas of longer grass are easy to rummage about in and provide cover for a wide variety of creatures from grasshoppers, beetles and crickets right up to birds and Rabbits. Toddlers are also pretty fond of them.
The familiar chirping of grasshoppers has been a welcome addition to our local sound scape. A truly evocative summer sound, produced by grasshopper stridulation by which a row of minute, evenly spaced pegs on the largest joint of the hindlegs is rubbed over the more prominent veins or ribs on the forewing.
Just a short post tonight as we’ve had a long weekend of traveling, all the way to Suffolk and back for a friend’s 40th birthday. A very late night, the first we’ve spent away from Joe, and the 400 miles mean I’m more than ready for a decent night’s sleep in our own, delicious bed.
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excellent photo! We heard loads of grasshoppers in the long grass by the coast over the weekend, then we stopped and crouched in the grass and saw loads too, though none wanted to pose for photos!
Indeed, I’ve been trying to get a shot of any kind of grasshopper for much of the summer, but they do tend to live up to their name a little too well when being stalked 🙂