A Rufous Grasshopper at Neu-Lindsey nature reserve

I drove Helena to Theescombe to visit Gail, who is still having difficulties as a result of her broken wrist. I think she also wanted some company being unable to get out of her quite isolated house.

The last time I drove Helena there I spotted and then blipped a nature reserve just a couple of hundred yards from Gail's house, on the south-west facing slope of the Nailsworth valley. Then I'd taken a photo of some carved owls which formed a gateway entrance to the little reserve. This time I stepped through the gateway and down the slope.

It is quite small with a wild meadow at its centre surrounded on its boundary by tall trees, with some gaps allowing scenic views across the valley and on to the far hilltops which form the edge of the Cotswold escarpment.

Having read my description of the reserve when I blipped it recently, my blip friend 'Stevvi' noted the fact that it is renowned for having special crickets. He was rather insistent that ‘I want the crickets next time’. So today I looked long and hard and this was the best image I got. The bad news is that it is a grasshopper and not a cricket. Apparently crickets have very long antennae whereas grasshoppers have only short ones.

According to the onsite information board this may be:
‘the rare Rufous Grasshopper of Neu-Lindsey, which is only found in sheltered spots in rough grass on alkaline (limestone|) soils, particularly the Cotswolds. In contrast the beautiful and striking 'great green bush-cricket' (up to 54mm long!) prefers fields with tall plants – even wild gardens, sunny waysides and wasteland. Neu-Lindsey is an important refuge for these species’.

Why is Neu-Lindsey special?
Old hay meadows on limestone were a very varied and beautiful habitat. Sadly many were lost with the advent of modern farming – silage making, ploughing and the use of fertilisers and sprays. Thankfully at Neu-Lindsey the age-old routine continued and Theescombe meadow survived. The rare wildflowers and insects found here require long grass in summer for feeding and breeding. The garss is only cut after wildflowers have bloomed and set seed, later than usual to benefit certain rare insects. Minchinhampton Common, the valuable old grassland nearby, is grazed short in summer.’