Ephippiger ephippiger

Ephippiger ephippiger, the 'saddle-backed bush cricket', is a species belonging to the family Tettigoniidae subfamily Bradyporinae. It is found in all of Europe except the British Isles.[2] but it is only common in Southwest Europe. The habitat consists of relatively dry and sparse areas with scarce vegetation, such as heather with a few trees, where it can be found both close to the soil and higher up in the vegetation. The saddle-backed bush cricket mainly eats insects and other small animals, but also plant parts. For arable farmers, it is a useful animal because it lives in plants but mainly hunts for plant-dwelling (pest) insects. It is active during the months of August to October; the males are mainly heard between eleven o'clock in the morning and nine o'clock in the evening. The sound is clearly audible and consists of a sharp, grating squeak that sounds like tieh, but is repeated in long runs with a frequency of about one or two times per second.

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  Male
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  Female
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  Head
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  Feeding

Ephippiger ephippiger
Ephippiger ephippiger, Germany
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Orthoptera
Family:	Tettigoniidae
Genus:	Ephippiger
Species:	E. ephippiger
Binomial name
Ephippiger ephippiger Fiebig, 1784[1]
Synonyms
Gryllus ephippiger Fiebig, 1784 Ephippiger vitium Serville, 1831 Ephippiger diurnus Dufour, 1841