Free Images - SnappyGoat.com- bestof:insect invertebrate cricket nature animal antennas nymph arthropod

Click Here for More Images from iStock- 15% off with coupon 15FREEIMAGES

A Banded Demoiselle poised on dead grass head in sunlight

Side-view of a brown tiger beetle with cream white spots on the elytra, situated on a Danish beach (Northern dune tiger beetle, Cicindela hybrida)

$Description:\nAdult wart-biters are 31–82 millimeters, with females being significantly larger than males. They are typically dark green in colour, usually with dark brown blotches on the pronotum and wings (a dark brown morphotype also occurs). The female has a long and slightly up curved ovipositor.\n The wart-biter has a song consisting of a rapidly repeated series of short bursts of clicks, sometimes lasting for several minutes.\nWart-biters normally move about by walking; they rarely fly, except when frightened. Most can only fly 3 to 4 meters at a time.\nHabitat:\nThe species is found in calcareous grassland and heathland habitats.\n\nDiet:\nThe species is omnivorous. Plants eaten include knapweed, nettles, bedstraws; the species also eats insects, including other grasshoppers. \nLife cycle:\nThe wart-biter lays its eggs in the soil; these eggs normally hatch after two winters. It then passes through seven instar stages between April and June. The adult stage is reached in the beginning of July. Wart-biter populations peak in late July and early August. Newly hatched Decticus are encased in a sheath to facilitate their trip to the soil surface, the sheath holding the legs and antennae safely against the body while burrowing upwards. A neck which can in turn be inflated and deflated, enlarges the top of its tunnel, easing its passage upwards.\nStatus and distribution:\nThis species occurs throughout continental Europe, except the extreme south, ranging from southern Scandinavia to Spain, Italy, and Greece. It is also found in temperate Asia, as far east as China. Geographic features such as mountains have fragmented the species, leading to a wide range of forms and numerous subspecies.\n\nConservation:\nThe population of wart-biters has declined in many areas of northern Europe. In Britain and the Netherlands, it is threatened with extinction (source Wikipedia).\n\nThis Picture is made during a Vacation in Bulgaria in May 2018.$