Colorful grasshopper
| Colorful grasshopper | ||||||||||||
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Colorful grasshopper ( Omocestus viridulus ), ♀ |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Omocestus viridulus | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The colorful grasshopper ( Omocestus viridulus ) is a short-antennae insect from the grasshopper family (Acrididae). The species colonizes the herbaceous layer of open areas in the hills and mountains, especially not too dry and extensively cultivated meadows and moors. The colorful grasshopper is widespread and common in Central Europe.
features
The animals reach a body length of 13 to 17 millimeters (males) or 20 to 24 millimeters (females). Their body is very variable in color green, brown, red or yellow, which is why the species bears its German name. Most of the animals are brown to reddish on the sides and bright green on the back. In contrast to the multi-bellied grasshopper ( Omocestus rufipes ), the end of the abdomen is never colored red. The wings are spotted little or not at all and are mostly green on the back, otherwise dark or brown. Especially the females can be confused with the heather grasshopper ( Stenobothrus lineatus ) and the multi-bellied grasshopper.
Occurrence
The species is widespread in Europe and Asia and occurs from northern Spain east to Mongolia . In the north, the species is absent in the northernmost part of the British Isles and in the north of Scandinavia , in the south it occurs in the north of Spain, Italy and Greece . They are mostly found between 300 and 900 meters above sea level, where the species is dominant. From the southern Alps they have been detected up to approx. 2600 meters, from the northern Alps up to 2100 meters, but less than 300 meters and depending on climatic conditions over 1000 meters, they are rare. Since the eggs of the animals are sensitive to drought, the species is found in habitats with moist soils. Dry areas are also populated when there is high rainfall, such as alpine pastures in the northern Alps or semi- arid grasslands , for example in the Swabian Alb . They can be found in the herb layer, for example, in moors , wet meadows , forest meadows, pastures and in sparse forests, preferably where clumpy grasses grow. Pastures that are used intensively for agriculture are not populated.
Way of life
The colorful grasshopper feeds herbivore , especially grass. The females lay their eggs at the base of densely overgrown clumps of sheep fescue ( Festuca ovina ) or wire fescue ( Deschampsia flexuosa ). Occasionally, however, they are also deposited in the ground. Hibernate the eggs laid in summer so that the nymphs do not hatch until the next spring. During the winter, the eggs are resistant to both flooding and drought . Adults appear as early as mid-June, with the females going through an additional nymph stage and thus being fully grown later. Most of the individuals can be found in August, from September onwards they can only be observed sporadically, and rarely until November.
Courtship and mating
The singing of the males consists of a long, swelling whirring sound, which is supplemented by short ticking noises. It is reminiscent of a fast ticking alarm clock, which is why the species is called "Wekkertje" in the Netherlands. The singing usually lasts 10 to 20 seconds and can be heard from a long distance. The males react to rivals. When a female approaches, the male switches to similar sounding advertising chants. This is returned by the female with a song which is similar to the usual call of the male; but it consists of shorter and quieter sequences of sounds. The more excited the partners are, the stronger the mutual singing becomes.
Hazard and protection
The species is currently classified as not endangered in the Red List of Threatened Species in Germany, but is on the warning list in Baden-Württemberg, among other places, due to increasing habitat loss . Because grassland is used more intensively for agriculture or converted to arable land, the species is increasingly losing habitat. In particular, the frequent mowing of the meadows leads to the disappearance of the species, as it relies on a tall herbaceous layer. The reduction of the mowing of moist meadows, the application of solid fertilizer instead of liquid manure and the prevention of drainage can ensure the preservation of the deposits on agricultural areas as well.
swell
literature
- Heiko Bellmann : Der Kosmos Heuschreckenführer, The species of Central Europe safely determine , Franckh-Kosmos Verlag GmbH & Co KG, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-440-10447-8 .
- Peter Detzel: The locusts of Baden-Württemberg. Verlag Eugen Ulmer GmbH & Co, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-8001-3507-8 .
Web links
- Omocestus viridulus at Orthoptera.ch
- Video: Stridulation behavior of the field locust Omocestus viridulus . Institute for Scientific Film (IWF) 1997, made available by the Technical Information Library (TIB), doi : 10.3203 / IWF / C-1995 .