Roesel's Bush-cricket at Hailey Park

While poking around on my local patch, Hailey Park Meadow, last week, I heard an odd sounding cricket (the call was a persistent buzzing, a bit like a quieter version of a cicada). It proved easy to locate a singing male, and the pale U-shaped mark on the shoulder confirmed this to be Roesel's Bush-cricket.

Roesel's Bush-cricket

A further two males were heard singing nearby, suggesting a resident population.

Like several other crickets, this species has been spreading north and west in recent years. It was recorded new to Glamorgan last year, at a site near Pentrebane on the western fringes of Cardiff - not very far from Hailey Park as the cricket flies (or leaps). Greg Jones has confirmed that this is the second known Glamorgan site, but there are bound to be others - one to look and listen out for.