Rare Sight at Red Rocks

Look out for this spectacular bug! This is a bush cricket, photographed at our Red Rocks nature reserve by Jenny Usher last week. It is a female - the fearsome "sword" at its back end is its ovipositor, which it uses to insert eggs into plant stems. Bush crickets are common in southern England but have been rare as far north as this. But one turned up in a Bromborough garden last week as well, so keep your eyes open - they may be increasing round here.