saga

This is probably a Saga pedo, a predatory bush cricket.
Considered one of the biggest insects in Europe with it's 12cm. length. The Saga pedo (Pallas, 1771) is one of the rarest too. Although counted in many southern european countries it presents a very scattered distribution and has been considered very vulnerable by IUCN commission which included it in the protected species list for the European Community since 2000 (www.redlist.org)

Every single feature of this insect is weird and interesting. It’s a grasshopper (order Orthoptera, family Tettigonidae, subfamily Saginae) but it’s completely carnivorous. It ambush other insects, especially crickets and other hoppers, among grass and bushes of the few dry scrublands where he lives. It seems very letargic until the very last moment, when the prey come close and is suddenly seized by the deadly hug of the first two pairs of legs adorned with strong thorns.