Bug FAQPredatory Bush-cricket
Saga pedo · Order: Orthoptera · Family: Tettigoniidae
Also called: Common Predatory Bush-cricket, Matriarchal Katydid, Predatory Katydid, Spiked Magician
The predatory bush-cricket can grow up to about 10 cm long, making it one of Europe’s largest insects. It is a stealthy predator that mainly eats other grasshoppers, crickets and mantises, and sometimes even small lizards.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
It blends in with vegetation, being brown or green with a pale side stripe. Its front and middle legs are strong and bear sharp spines.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults are typically 5 to 7 cm long without the ovipositor, but can reach up to 7.8 cm. Including the ovipositor, total length can be as much as 10.5 cm, occasionally up to 12 cm.
Source: Wikipedia
How to get rid of it
No control methods have been documented.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It lives in grasslands, meadows, pastures, shrublands, thickets, plains, forest steppes, semi-open forest edges, gorges, hedges, grain fields and vineyards. It prefers areas with dry summers, mild winters and can be found from sea level up to about 1,750 m altitude.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adults are predators that mainly eat other Orthoptera and mantises, and will occasionally take small lizards. Nymphs are also predatory, though one record shows a nymph feeding on nectar.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
After reaching adulthood, a female lays eggs for up to six months, starting a few weeks after maturity. Eggs hatch no earlier than April; the young pass through five to seven molts before becoming adults.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are most active at dusk and during the early night, with limited daytime activity. Nymphs are generally active during daylight hours.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Saga pedo is native to the southern half of Europe and western-central Asia.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 1 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Michigan.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
How large does a predatory bush-cricket get?
Adults can reach about 10 cm in total length, with some individuals up to 12 cm.
Source: Wikipedia
What does this bush-cricket eat?
It mainly preys on other grasshoppers, crickets and mantises, and may occasionally take small lizards.
Source: Wikipedia
When are they active?
Adults are active at dusk and early night, while nymphs are active during the day.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Tettigoniidae)
Great Green Bush-cricketTettigonia viridissimaCan bite
Dark Bush-cricketPholidoptera griseoaptera
Mediterranean KatydidPhaneroptera nanaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Fork-tailed Bush KatydidScudderia furcataDamages trees, gardens or crops
Speckled Bush-cricketLeptophyes punctatissima
Roesel's Bush-cricketRoeseliana roeseliiSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saga_pedo
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.