One Planet News: The Strange Relationship Between People and Wart Biters
Go Wild With Annette
By Annette J Beveridge
Our relationship with nature is intricate but in some instances, rather curious too. Here’s why.
The Wart-Biter Bush Cricket is a large cricket which used to be caught by individuals with offending warts. The aim was for the cricket to nibble away at the wart, eventually removing it. Even though it was not a wholly successful treatment, people continued to believe in it.
If you had a wart to treat now, good luck finding one of these crickets as the species is found at only a handful of sites in the UK - across Southern England. The population of these crickets are low, so they are vulnerable and difficult to spot.
Wart-Biter adults measure between 31mm and 37mm. With large and powerful back legs, it has been described as being ‘frog-like’. The cricket has large dark eyes and a dark green body with dark brown blotches along the body.
They live for just a few months as adults and eat small to medium-sized invertebrates. This incudes grasshoppers.
if you want to add them to your list of must-see species - choose a warm sunny day in July and August and visit nature reserves in Southern England. Search in short and long tussocky grasslands.
Countryside Manager of the National Trust, Peter Oliver said: “Wart-Biter Bush Crickets are present in several of the dry valley coombes on the National Trust site at Calstone and Cherhill and this is one of only six known populations in the UK and the only known population in Wiltshire.
“Whilst it is difficult to survey for this species and make definitive statements regarding the population size, this species is annually observed and the population appears to be stable and may be increasing. Calstone and Cherhill is a site important for species rich chalk grassland with a diverse range of vascular plants, grasses and invertebrates and this species appears to favour south facing slopes with a varied vegetation structure of short grass swards interspersed with longer tussocks.
“Males favour the longer swards as a place from which to stridulate (call) to the females. This habitat is maintained with conservation grazing using cattle.”
Like all bush crickets, the Wart-Biter Bush-Cricket ‘sings’ by rubbing its wings together. This is different to grasshoppers as they rub their legs against their wings.
The song is quite loud and distinctive. Listen for short bursts of rapidly-repeated clicks.
Although these crickets have wings, they usually walk and can only fly for a few meters as they are too heavy.
Eggs are laid singly in bare soil. if careful, you might see eggs close to grass clumps. The eggs are dormant for two years, sometimes, longer but eventually, hatch in mid spring. Several nymphal stages are passed through before the adult stage is reached.
The Wart-Biter is considered one of Britain’s most endangered insects, protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the NERC Act 2006 so tread carefully if out looking for them.
This is such a fasinating piece of natural history. Had no idea there was an actual insect called a Wart-Biter, let alone that people genuinely used them as treatment. The conservation angle is super interesting too, seems like so many of these niche species are hanging on by a thread. I got into insect spotting last summer and thsi might get added to my bucket list.