Decticus verrucirous also known as the wart-biter is a familiar inhabitant of the alpine meadows where I spend numerous hours looking for the local wildlife. It belongs to the Orthoptera order and is a bush-cricket ('une sauterelle' in the French language).
Its Scientific, English and French name ('Dectique verrucivore' in French) derives from and ancient practice of using this rather large insect (from 30 to 80 mm) to bite warts from the skin. I remember having been, as a child both, fascinated and appalled by the 'benefit' people used to draw from that insect.
The ward-biter is easy to spot as it readily hops when one gently tread the grass tussocks of its thermophilous habitat. Managing to catch a couple of individuals by hand for the purpose of this blog article is a bit more trickier but with a few decades of wild insects observation under my belt, I succeeded quite easily. ;)
A female specimen, with the long and upcurved ovipositor:
A male:
The habitat (panoramic view):
