Gratte-couï bush cricket

Come see the gratte-couï bush cricket in the Tête-à-tête room at the Insectarium.

The gratte-couï bush cricket is found in the forests (both wet and dry) and gardens of the southeastern Caribbean. Its common name refers to its song, which sounds like an insect rubbing wood. In Guadeloupe, “couï” is the name of a musical instrument, a rough-skinned gourd.

This cricket’s wings have nerve structures in the form of a net.

Singing grasshoppers

The song of the gratte-couï bush cricket, like that of other grasshoppers, is termed “stridulation,” and is produced by rubbing the structures of the forewings.

During stridulation, the gratte-couï bush cricket also shakes its abdomen against the ground, when it is said to be tremulating. Tremulating while stridulating seems to be a feat specific to this species.

Other bush crickets hear the sounds thanks to tympani located on their tibias.

Egg incubation: 3 weeks

Lifespan: about 6 months