Red-headed bush cricket
Its mouthparts carry a pair of palps so broad and pale they look like tiny boxing gloves, which this cricket waves about when agitated.
| Where | Shrubs and tall grasses near marshes |
|---|---|
| Size | 7 to 9 mm long (body length) |
| When | June to October |
The Red-headed bush cricket is a small, delicate insect only 7 to 9 mm long, with a bright red head and thorax, a black abdomen and wings, and pale legs. Its maxillary palps are broadened into flat, pale segments that look like tiny boxing gloves.
It lives in low shrubs and tall grasses near streams and marshes, usually about a meter above the ground rather than down in leaf litter. Males produce a loud, high-pitched trill by rubbing their wings together, a familiar sound of summer evenings.
Traits
Habitat
Wetland
Colour
Red, Black, Yellow
Active
Day and night
To people
Harmless to people; it does not bite or sting.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
A plain pale green to tan trig of similar size, lacking the Red-headed bush cricket's bold red head, black wings and boxing-glove palps entirely.
Questions
Is the Red-headed bush cricket dangerous to people?
Harmless to people; it does not bite or sting.
When can you see the Red-headed bush cricket?
The Red-headed bush cricket can be seen from June to October, by day and at night.
Plate retouched from a photo by Raven Dandridge, CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist Licence
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Crickets and grasshoppers›Sword-tail crickets›Phyllopalpus
Last updated 2026-09-27. Every entry is checked against published sources.