Phaneroptera falcata, the sickle-bearing bush-cricket, is a species of Orthopterans belonging to the subfamily Phaneropterinae. It is mostly herbivorous and commonly measures 24 to 36 mm long. It lives mainly in warm scrub and grasslands areas,[1] also on dry shrubbery and in sand pits and gardens.

Phaneroptera falcata
Phaneroptera falcata, male
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Orthoptera
Suborder: Ensifera
Family: Tettigoniidae
Subfamily: Phaneropterinae
Tribe: Phaneropterini
Genus: Phaneroptera
Species:
P. falcata
Binomial name
Phaneroptera falcata
Poda, 1761
Synonyms
  • Locusta libellula (Stoll, 1787)
  • Decticus phyllopteroides (Fischer von Waldheim, 1846)
  • Phaneroptera sinensis Uvarov, 1933
Close-Up of a Phaneroptera falcata

Distribution

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Phaneroptera falcata occurs in Europe and has historically been restricted to southern and central parts of the continent. They are absent in the Alpine foothills and in many parts of the Swabian Alps. Phaneroptera falcata has been extending the northern limits of its range in mainland Europe in recent decades;[2][3] it is now regular in parts of southernmost Scandinavia, despite only spreading to the region quite recently (first record in Denmark in 2010 and in Sweden in 2014).[4][5] Vagrant adults are occasionally found in Britain, and a small, but apparently established, colony was discovered near Dungeness in Kent in 2015.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "Phaneroptera falcata (Poda, 1761)". Orthoptera and Allied Insects. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  2. ^ Kočárek P.; Holuša J.; Vlk R.; Marhoul P.; Zuna-Kratky T. (2008). "Recent expansions of the bush-crickets Phaneroptera falcata and Phaneroptera nana (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) in the Czech Republic" (PDF). Articulata. 23 (1): 65–75. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 June 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Newsletter 32, Autumn 2015" (PDF). Grasshoppers and Related Species Recording Scheme of Britain and Ireland. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  4. ^ "Seglgræshoppe". NaturBasen. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  5. ^ "Långvingad lövvårtbitare". Artdatabanken (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences). Retrieved 24 August 2023.
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