Crickets and grasshoppers act as climate detectives

Crickets and grasshoppers are proving to be valuable beacons of climate change in Britain. Warming temperatures and improved food and breeding conditions are driving the creatures to move into new, previously unfavourable, regions.

Although more often associated with Mediterranean countries, crickets and grasshoppers have been living in Britain for many years - the earliest recorded sightings date back to the 17th century. In recent decades large numbers of the insects, which belong to a group known as Orthoptera, have been arriving on our shores and spreading rapidly.

Scientists are now asking the British public to help them track the spread of these tiny climate detectives by recording sightings of them on a new monitoring scheme website.

'Crickets and grasshoppers are good indicators of climate change and we have been monitoring them since the 1960s, but we can only track changes if people tell us what they see,' explained Björn Beckmann from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. 'We have many volunteers who photograph and record the species they find, but we are hoping to expand the record by involving the public more. We've done the same with ladybird monitoring and that has been very successful.'

'Grasshoppers and crickets are ideal for the project because they are amongst the most appealing of insects and can be easily identified by the public', added Beckmann.

Rare species, such as the long-winged conehead that were once restricted to just a few sites on the far south-east coast, can be found as far north as Leicestershire. Similarly the Roesel's bush cricket, largely found in the Thames and Solent Estuaries during the last century, is now seen across southern and central Britain. Recent arrivals, such as the Southern Oak bush cricket, are starting to populate the south-east coastal region.

Anyone wanting to help the scientists can record their sightings and photographs of grasshoppers and crickets on the Orthoptera Recording Scheme website.

http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/news/story.aspx?id=476