In the early 1990s, the Field Cricket was confined to just a single site and threatened with extinction in Britain, but after years of tireless conservation work the species’ future now looks more secure. Jane Sears, Mike Edwards, Rowan Edwards and Mike Coates describe the latest understanding of the preferences of this species and share lessons learned from three decades of conservation efforts.
A familiar backdrop to a summer’s evening on the Continent, the call of the Field Cricket Gryllus campestris is a rare sound in Britain. At the northern edge of its range, and dependent on warmth to survive, it is apparent from the writings of Gilbert White that even in 1761 the Field Cricket’s British distribution was restricted to the sandy heaths of Surrey and Sussex, in south-east England.