The Grasshoppers of Essex

The Grasshoppers and Crickets (Orthoptera) of Essex by Tim Gardiner & Ted Benton 280 pages, over 80 colour photos, published by Dedham Vale Publishing/Essex Wildlife Trust The soundscape of a country walk in the summer includes – if you are lucky – the songs of grasshoppers and crickets (Orthoptera). They are an important part of the food chain and their presence or absence tells us much about the health of the environment. In Essex, 21 species have been recorded in recent decades with large changes in the abundance and distribution of several species such as the Long-winged Conehead and Roesel’s bush-cricket due to climate change. This book presents the results of a 25-year survey (1996-2000) of the distribution of Essex Orthoptera, but more importantly documents the extensive body of research into the effects of climate change and the conservation management required to protect our scarcer species such as the grey bush-cricket and mottled grasshopper. This fully illustrated 280 p...