Overview
- The Senckenberg-linked committee announced the selection, continuing an awareness campaign held annually since 1999.
- Experts warn that intensified farming, drainage and afforestation are degrading the species’ meadow habitats and isolating populations.
- Researchers urge nature-oriented land management, better connectivity between sites and sustainable use to secure remaining populations.
- The bush-cricket is up to four centimeters long with long antennae and a cube-like pattern on its short forewings, and males produce distinctive “Zick” calls in sun from about 23°C.
- The name traces to a folk belief that a strong bite and “sharp juice” could cure warts, a remedy noted as unproven and painful.