14-6-2021 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - SICKLE BEARING BUSHCRICKET (Genus Phaneroptera)

The Sickle-bearing Bush-cricket (Phaneroptera falcata) is a yellow-green insect in the family Tettigoniidae. It grows 24 to 36 mm long, features very long wings, and has a short, sharply upturned, sickle-shaped laying organ. It lives in warm fields, bushes, and gardens, eating mostly plants.

Key Facts

Size: 2.4 to 3.6 cm long

Color: Bright yellow-green

Food: Leaves and plant parts

Active time: Adults live from July to October

Home: Warm scrublands and open fields 

19-7-2022 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - SICKLE BEARING BUSHCRICKET (Genus Phaneroptera)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/48130-Phaneroptera

5-7-2022 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - SICKLE BEARING BUSHCRICKET (Genus Phaneroptera)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/48130-Phaneroptera

1-7-2019 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - SICKLE BEARING BUSHCRICKET (Genus Phaneroptera)

The Sickle-bearing Bush-cricket (Phaneroptera falcata) is a slender, green insect in warm grasslands, known for its long wings, herbivorous diet (plants), and distinctive sickle-shaped ovipositor in females, used for laying eggs within leaves, with males chirping to attract mates. They are active in late afternoons/evenings, can fly long distances when startled, and are often found in gardens, shrubbery, and scrubland, sometimes mistaken for the similar Mediterranean Katydid. 

Key Characteristics

Appearance: Slender, bright green body, very long antennae, and wings that extend well past the body.

Size: Adults are typically 24-36 mm long.

Distinguishing Feature (Female): A sharp, right-angled turn on the ovipositor (egg-laying tube).

Distinguishing Feature (Male): Sub-genital plates end in diverging points. 

Habitat & Behavior

Habitat: Warm, dry areas like grasslands, shrubbery, gardens, and sand pits.

Activity: Most active in warm late afternoons and evenings.

Diet: Herbivorous, feeding on leaves, flowers, and pollen.

Flight: Capable of flying long distances when threatened.

Sound: Males produce chirps (stridulation) to attract females, heard via hearing organs (tympanal organs) on their front legs. 

Life Cycle & Reproduction

Egg-laying: Females insert eggs into plant leaves, often blackthorn, by bending their abdomen.

Eggs: Can be laid between leaf layers, making them flat. 

Often confused with the Mediterranean Katydid (Phaneroptera nana), but P. falcata has a more angular ovipositor and pronotum (body section).