is a species of rough grassland. It seems to occur whenever coarse grasses invade a site through lack
of grazing or other forms of management. It is an indicator of the increasing coarseness of some of
the Forest grasslands. The lovely pale green oak Bush Cricket (Meconema thalassinum) is our only
almost entirely arboreal member of this group. It is probably widespread throughout the Forest, often
found in Oak trees but rarely noticed because of this habit. It is unusual in that it almost entirely
insectivorous: the other species are largely herbivorous. It comes readily to light and I have a number
of records from this source from suburban gardens in Buckhurst Hill and Loughton. The Speckled
Bush Cricket (Leptophyes puctatissima) is another species not often recorded. It has a barely audible
'song' and most records of this species are incidental, for example, when sweeping vegetation for
other insects. Records of this species are mainly from low 'scrub' vegetation in the northern half of
the Forest. I have never seen the Dark Bush Cricket (Pholidoptera griseoaptera) in the Forest,
although it is common enough in rural Essex. I have seen it in Clapgate Lane and on the nearby Roding
Valley Meadows Nature Reserve. R. M. Payne, writing in 1957 ' ... oddly enough it has never been
recorded from Epping Forest'. However, J. O. Mountford recorded this species in the hot summer of
1976 from Paul's Nursery, High Beach. Mountford also provides us with the only record of the
Common Ground-hopper (Tetrix undulata) for the Forest - noted again from Paul's Nursery in 1976.
I have never seen this species in the Forest and R. M. Payne (1957) reported it only once from just
outside the Forest at Birching Coppice, Coopersale. A table (Table 1) is given below to locate the
species mentioned above.
Related Groups
Other related native insects found in the Forest include the Dusky Cockroach (Ectobius lapponicus).
William Cole (in Buxton, 1905) relates the finding of this species at 'sugar' (painted on trees to attract
moths). Subsequently this native cockroach was reported from the Cuckoo Pits and near the Wake
Arms by H. W. Forster and R. D. Weal (Payne, 1957). Apparently no specimens have been collected:
it would be useful to verify the identity of this species as another species, the Tawney Cockroach
(Ectobius pallidus) may be present as well. The Common Earwig (Forficula auricularia) is common
and widespread in the Forest often under dry peeling bark. William Cole (in Buxton, 1905) reported
the related Lesser Earwig (Labia minor) ' ... commonly seen flying in the hot sunshine along roads
or near farmyards'.
Introduced Species
There have been reports of various introduced species in the Epping Forest area. I found a single
specimen of the Desert Locust (Schistocerca gregaria) at Jack's Hill, Theydon Bois in 1988,
presumably an escape or deliberate release of this much-cultured laboratory insect. A single Egyptian
Locust (Anacridium aegyptium) was found at a car dealership in Leytonstone in 1986 and was thought
to have arrived in a car imported from Spain. The once familiar House Cricket (Acheta domestica)
was reported from Buckhurst Hill and the Bank of England printing works at Debden in 1974-75. The
troublesome domestic cockroaches (Blatta orientalis and Periplaneta americana) were reported by
E. H. Moss from the Leyton and Leytonstone areas in the 1950s. There is a single specimen of a green
tropical cockroach (Panchlora sp.) in the collection of the Passmore Edwards Museum, labelled
'Woodford, 1909, found amongst bananas.'
References
Brown. V. K. (1983) Grasshoppers. Cambridge, p. 1-64.
Buxton, E N. (1905) Epping Forest. 7th Edn. Revised. London, p. 94.
Marshall. 1. A. and Haes. E. C. M. (1988) Grasshoppers and Allied Insects of Great Britain and Ireland. Harley.
Payne, R. M. (1957) The Distribution of Grasshoppers and Allied Insects in the London Area. Lon. Nat. No. 37. p. 102-115.
Ragge. D. R. (1965) Grasshoppers. Crickets and Cockroaches of the British Isles Warne.
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