Pholidoptera griseoaptera
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Pholidoptera griseoaptera, the dark bush-cricket, is a flightless species of European bush-cricket; it is the type species of its genus with no subspecies. Pholidoptera griseoaptera can reach a body length of 11 to 21 mm (males) and 15 to 20 mm (females), much smaller than the similar Pholidoptera aptera. The sickle-shaped and upward curved ovipositor of the females is 8 to 10 mm long, while the males have two short cerci. The antennae and the hind legs are quite long.
The rounded brachypterous wings of the males are brown with light brown to ochre-coloured edges and are about 5 mm in length (about as long as the pronotum). The females are almost wingless or have half-round, grey-brown fore-wings that are 1–2 mm long. Long-winged (macropterous) forms are not recorded.
This species can be found in Europe from northern Spain up to Crimea, Caucasus and the Near East. It is fairly common in Great Britain, but not recorded from Ireland. On the Isle of Man the species is legally protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife Act 1990, being found at only two coastal sites (Lonan and Glen Maye) at the extreme north of the species’ British Isles... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 2 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 4 | Picos de Europa National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Hohe Tauern National Park | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 6 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 7 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 8 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 9 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 10 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Dark Bush-Cricket sighting in Mercantour National Park on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 221st most-seen of the 412 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Dark Bush-Cricket in Mercantour National Park on a given day, against under 5% in November to June, the lowest months. That is one of Mercantour National Park's wettest months, with about 140 mm of rain against 50 mm in August.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Dark Bush-Cricket sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
7th of 10
Of the 10 parks where we can rate Dark Bush-Cricket sightings, Mercantour National Park ranks 7th at about 10%. The best odds are in Triglav National Park (Slovenia, about 30%), Bavarian Forest National Park (Germany, about 20%) and Białowieża National Park (Poland, about 20%).
Same genus: Pholidoptera
The closest relatives of the Dark Bush-Cricket that you can see in Mercantour National Park (genus Pholidoptera) are Alpine Dark Bush-Cricket (about 20%) and Meadow Dark Bush-Cricket (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Dark Bush-Cricket is recorded against all the insects logged in Mercantour National Park (13 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
