Grasshoppers, Crickets and Related Insects
Typically for the majority of areas north of the Thames, the Orthoptera and related insects are not a
well represented group, with only a dozen species recorded from the Forest sensu stricto, half the
number of species that are found on the Dorset heathlands or in the New Forest. Perhaps because it
was for long recognised as having only a restricted Orthopteran fauna, few people have bothered to
record the Forest's grasshoppers and crickets. William Cole, writing in Buxton's 'Epping Forest'
(1905), gave a tantalisingly vague description' ... Among the Orthoptera, the Crickets (Gryllidae) and
the Grasshoppers (Acridiidae) must be left to chirp their own praises and there are several species to
join in the chorus'. William Harwood, at the turn of the century (VCH, 1 p.92-4), in compiling a list
of Orthoptera of the county, did not mention any records for Epping Forest. Later, R. M. Payne, writing
in 1957 mentioned a number of Forest species in his paper concerned with the Orthoptera of the
London area.
Grasshoppers and Crickets
Five species of grasshopper have been recorded in the Forest. Perhaps the commonest of these is
the Meadow Grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus) found on grassy plains throughout the Forest, the
short-winged female making it a conspicuous species for identification purposes. Less frequent is the
Common Field Grasshopper (Chorthippus brunneus), seemingly preferring a shorter sward than the
Meadow Grasshopper. Two other species, the Common Green Grasshopper (Omocestus viridulus)
and the Lesser Marsh Grasshopper (Chorthippus albomarginatus) seem to have mutually exclusive
distributions: the former being found mainly in the north of the Forest, in places such as Fairmead,
Sunshine Plain and Almshouse Plain, whilst the latter species is virtually confined to the southern
Forest grasslands, Wanstead and Leyton Flats, for example. The Lesser Marsh Grasshopper is also of
interest because in Essex it is more often seen on coastal grasslands. R. M. Payne (1957) reported the
Mottled Grasshopper (Myrmeleotettix maculatus) '... very locally on dry heathy ground in Epping
Forest'. This species, often found on heathland, was recorded from Sunshine Plain and Almshouse
Plain in 1976 by J. O. Mountford. I have never seen it in the Forest, although I have noted it elsewhere
in Britain. Perhaps the most conspicuous of the crickets is Roesel's Bush Cricket (Metrioptera roeselii)
(Fig. 1), apparently only recently known from the Forest. I first found it in September, 1982 on
Fairmead, and in subsequent years it has been reported from among other places; Chingford Plain.
Leyton Flats, Wanstead Flats and Woodford Green. The long-winged form (f. diluta) has been noted
twice; a female on Fairmead in 1983 and another on Whitehall Plain in 1990. Roesel's Bush Cricket
Fig. 1. Roesel's Bush Cricket, now a common species on many of the Forest's Tufted hair-grass
dominated grasslands (MH).
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