Steppe grasshopper
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Steppe grasshopper ( Chorthippus vagans ), ♂ |
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| Chorthippus vagans | ||||||||||||
| ( Eversmann , 1848) |
The steppe grasshopper ( Chorthippus vagans ) is a short-antennae insect from the family of field locusts (Acrididae).
features
The animals are 12 to 15 millimeters (males) or 16 to 22 millimeters (females) long. Their body has a brown basic color, with males being a little darker and less contrasting. The abdomen , thorax and the underside of the thighs ( femora ) are colored green-yellow, the head and the front part of the thorax are gray-brown on the underside. The head of the males, unlike that of the females, is conspicuously grayish-white when viewed from the front. The side keels on the pronotum are angled, sharply demarcated, colored white and flanked on both sides by a black spot. The forewings bear a white-veined stigma. The front wings of the males are colored black-brown. The rear five to six tergites on the abdomen are colored orange-red on the sides and on the top to the tip. In the females there is a white band up to 2.5 millimeters wide on the back of the tergite on the side of the body, in the males this is only found on the first two segments. The thighs of the hind legs, especially in females, have an elongated black spot on the inside in the basal third, which has a light brown to white border on both sides. The splints ( tibia ) of the hind legs are colored red-orange, especially in the males, but the knees are not colored black, as in the similar gravel bank grasshopper ( Chorthippus pullus ). The species can be distinguished from similar species, such as the misunderstood grasshopper ( Chorthippus mollis ) or the nightingale grasshopper ( Chorthippus biguttulus ) , in particular by its oval-shaped tympanic organs and the unexpanded median field of the forewings that reach to the tip of the abdomen .
Occurrence
The species occurs in Europe and Asia . Europe is populated to the north as far as Denmark , in addition the species occurs via Turkey , the southern parts of Russia and Kazakhstan , and east to Siberia . In Central Europe they are found at altitudes between 100 and 900, mostly 300 to 600 meters, in the French Limestone Alps the species has been detected at Mont Ventoux up to an altitude of 1900 meters. The steppe grasshopper lives in warm and dry habitats with sparse, low vegetation, such as steppe heath , dune areas or dry pine forests. Those areas are preferred which also cool down only slightly at night and have a low relative humidity. This is why the species is often found bordering forest edges, at least in less temperature-favored arid regions, since sweeping branches both absorb part of the precipitation and reduce heat radiation at night.
Way of life
The animals feed on herbivores of grasses, herbaceous plants, mosses and lichens. The females lay their eggs about 1.5 centimeters deep in the ground in heavily sunlit, vegetation-free areas. The eggs and also the larvae are very drought tolerant compared to those of other species of the genus Chorthippus . The adults appear from mid-July to October.
Courtship and mating
Calling, the males search their habitat for females who are mostly hidden between leaves and branches or rocks. The male's singing consists of a string of scratching "chrä" sounds at different speeds. Rivals are countered with irregular, short rows of one to ten such sounds. If the male tracks down a partner, he approaches her very close and quietly chirps "sich-ti" - and "sich-ti-ti-ti" - and long, metallic-sounding "ti-ti" verses. If the courtship is successful, the subsequent approach is successful and the mating takes place, with the male sitting somewhat to the side of the female's body and the tips of the abdomen meeting from the side. If the female is not impressed, the male continues the courtship with "chrä" sounds.
Hazard and protection
The steppe grasshopper is classified as endangered (category 3) on the red list of endangered species in Germany . The main cause of its endangerment is the change in its habitats.
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany. Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 978-3-89624-110-8
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 .
