The dark bush-cricket is a flightless species of European bush-cricket. It can be found in Europe from northern Spain up to Crimea, Caucasus and the Near East. It is fairly common in Great Britain but not recorded from Ireland.
The body length of male dark bush-cricket is 11 to 21 mm, that of females 15 to 20 mm. The sickle-shaped and upward curved ovipositor of the females is 8 to 10 mm long, while the males have two short cerci. The antennae and the hind legs are quite long.
The females lay their eggs in the soil, in dead branches, in bark crevices and rotting wood. The nymphs require two years for their full development, with seven stages. They feed exclusively on vegetables.
My photo shows a dark bush-cricket nymph in its grasshopper world.
[A nymph is a small version of the adults, that lacks wings and other adult characteristics.]