Subject: What’s this bug?!
Location: UK
August 10, 2017 5:57 am
Hi Bugman, I’ve been looking on google to identify this as at first I thought it was a grasshopper but have found nothing similar to the “claw” on its abdomen.
I found the bug in the midlands in the UK. We have a relatively cloudy climate, but it’s been very sunny lately.
Signature: Thank you! Sev
Dear Sev,
The “claw” is actually the ovipositor used by this female Ensiferan to lay her eggs. In North America, these are called Katydids, and in Europe they are called Bush Crickets. We believe your individual is an Oak Bush Cricket, Meconema thalassinum, which we identified on Insects and other Arthropods. We also found the species represented on BugGuide where it is called a Drumming Katydid, and according to BugGuide, the range is “Southern New England and British Columbia” but it “has been introduced from Europe.”