Long-winged Conehead.

Delighted with this find on Hatch Hill in Somerset. This is a long-winged Conehead (Conocephalus discolour) and is a cricket which I have never seen before. Although it has spread rapidly in the last few decades it is still mainly in the southern half of England.

We were walking with our Somerset friends on a butterfly transect. Although the sun was shining there was a strong north west breeze and insect were finding it hard to cling on to flower heads. So getting this shot was quite pleasing.

The crickets song is too high pitched to be heard by someone of my age and it really needs a bat detector to record it. The larvae emerge from hollow stems between late April and June but go through five nymphal stages before becoming adults in August. The antennae are extraordinary long.

An exciting find.