Le Tizi

 Keep an eye out in the late summer and all through the autumn for Bush-crickets. Good places to look are in amongst the vine leaves and in the besom heath scrub that is often allowed to persist in hunting reserves. This one is Ephippiger ephippiger, a male. They are called le tizi in French, as that is what their chirrup sounds like. They are strange fat ponderous hunchbacked creatures, with abbreviated wings that are only used for stridulating, not for flying. The one in these photos is male, lacking the sword-like ovipositor at the rear.