Foreword
I have known Alan for well over 50 years since our schooldays and, although he would be
too modest to admit it, he has been a considerable influence in my life. Firstly, I married
his sister and secondly, it was he who fired my enthusiasm many years ago for the British
flora and then, more recently, for Orthoptera.
I am not sure how his interest developed in this group of insects but with the
encouragement and assistance of a few intrepid individuals from the Colchester Natural
History Society he almost single handedly organised the research into the distribution of
the Essex Orthoptera. This was indeed pioneering work, it being the first county-wide
attempt at such an exercise for this group of insects in Essex. Such biological recording
and subsequent monitoring is now regarded as one of the most vital elements in
influencing conservation policies. The historical data Alan has included is probably as
comprehensive as any previously published for a single county. Of particular importance
is the apparent first evidence, in the mid 1940s, of the expansion of range of Roesel's
Bush Cricket away from its ancestral (in Britain) coastal and estuarine habitats. Of equal
significance is the well described flight of the long-winged form of this species - a rarely
observed phenomenon.
The thoughtful inclusion of details of the localities of species not refound in the current
survey should prove useful to future field workers who may yet refind them, particularly in
view of recent research suggesting that some Tettigoniidae may spend more than one
season in the egg stage. This publication also comes at a critical time when possible
Climatological change appears to be responsible for population increases and expansion
of range in many species. The data here forms an important base from which to monitor
any future changes in this important county and it is fo be hoped that other Essex
naturalists will soon continue this work that Alan has started.
John Widgery
Organiser
National Orthoptera Recording Scheme
Page 1