The Ephippigerini are a tribe of bush crickets in the subfamily Bradyporinae, erected by Brunner von Wattenwyl in 1878. Species have been recorded from mainland Europe (not the British Isles or Scandinavia), North Africa and the Horn of Africa.
The Armoured Ground Cricket have several defensive mechanisms that they use when attacked, as well as the innate defence provided by their armoured exoskeleton. The mechanism used depends on the sex of the individual and the method of attack. When attacked from the side, males will stridulate (rubbing legs together to produce sounds) and both sexes will attempt to bite the attacker. In around 50% of attacks from the side, both sexes will autohaemorrhage, squirting between 5 mg and 80 mg of toxic haemolymph at their attacker over distances up to 30 cm.
The Armoured Ground Cricket is tough and covered with sharp spines (as the name might suggest), but it also squirts blood and vomits when attacked. The blood smells (and probably tastes) nasty, and it seems to be an effective way of escaping predators such as lizards. The Armoured Ground Cricket preys up on birds' nestlings, but are also known to prey up on many other different prey.
