Common grasshopper
| Common grasshopper | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Common grasshopper ( Chorthippus parallelus ), ♂ |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Chorthippus parallelus | ||||||||||||
| ( Zetterstedt , 1821) |
The common grasshopper ( Chorthippus parallelus ) is a common short-antennae insect from the grasshopper family . It is one of the most common types of grasshopper in Central Europe.
features
The species becomes 13 to 22 millimeters long. The body color is, as with many Gomphocerinae, very variable. Green and brown morphs are common, sometimes with reddish or purple areas. The females are significantly larger than the males, but only have very short wings. Both sexes are flightless in the more common brachypteran morph. Occasionally airworthy (macroptere) morphs also occur. Like all grasshoppers (Gomphocerinae), the males of this species communicate acoustically. The "singing", which is clearly audible up to approx. 10 m, is generated by running a saw comb, which is located on the inside of the hind legs, along the edge of the wing cover at certain intervals. Both hind legs are moved up and down in unison, with each downward movement generating a syllable of the song. Normal singing produces around five syllables per second (at 26–30 degrees, it is a bit slower in cooler weather), a total of around 8–10 in a verse. The stanzas follow one another at intervals of 5–10 seconds. The rival song, which alternates with other males in the vicinity (i.e. approx. 50 cm), is somewhat different: it usually only contains approx. Six syllables that follow one another much faster. The distance between the stanzas is also shorter. At the end of the stanza, the hind legs are set at different angles. Like all cold-blooded animals, this short-lived frightening species is mainly active at sufficiently high temperatures.
It may be confused with the marsh grasshopper ( Chorthippus montanus ), which is similar morphologically and also in terms of its vocal expression, but is generally rarer . From time to time morphologically intermediate animals appear, which are interpreted as hybrids.
habitat
The common grasshopper is quite versatile in terms of its habitat. These animals can be found in almost all open, grassy habitats that are neither too wet nor too dry: on grassland , on paths and forest edges in almost all of Europe . In the east the species occurs as far as Siberia and in the south as far as North Africa .
Reproduction
The males attract the females with their song or meet them accidentally (with high population densities). Regardless of the mating, the female lays egg packets in the ground about every three days.
Life cycle
Adult animals can be found from June (rarely also from May) to the beginning of October. The eggs overwinter and the nymphs hatch from April.
food
Like most members of the genus, this species feeds on various grasses.
supporting documents
literature
- Bertrand & Hannes Baur, Christian & Daniel Roesti: The locusts of Switzerland . Haupt Verlag, Bern 2006, ISBN 3-258-07053-9 .
- Heiko Bellmann : The Cosmos Locust Leader. Determine the species of Central Europe with certainty . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-440-10447-8 .
- Peter Detzel: The locusts of Baden-Württemberg . Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-8001-3507-8 .
Individual evidence
- ^ WJ Reynolds: A reexamination of the characters separating Chorthippus montanus and Chorthippus parallelus (Orthoptera, Acrididae). In: Journal of Natural History. 14, 1980, pp. 283-303.
