Nordic mountain cricket
| Nordic mountain cricket | ||||||||||||
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Nordic mountain hermit, male |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Melanoplus frigidus | ||||||||||||
| ( Boheman , 1846) |
The Nordic Mountain Insect ( Melanoplus frigidus ) is a species of grasshopper from the family of field locusts (Acrididae).
features
Males reach a body length of 17 to 20 millimeters, females grow with 24 to 26 millimeters. The body is clearly hairy. The basic color of the species is very variable. There are yellowish, gray-green and purple to reddish-brown shades as well as various combinations thereof. The back is mostly brown to gray in color, while the sides are yellowish to greenish. In contrast, the species has glossy black and yellow-white spotting on the flanks. This is particularly noticeable on the side lobes of the pronotum. Here it consists of a large, black blemish and yellow spots, which are enclosed in the upper part of the blemish. The wings are about as long as the head and pronotum together and pointed at their ends. The underside of the hind legs and the rear rails are bright red.
Occurrence
The northern mountain hideaway is common boreo- alpine. It occurs in northern Scandinavia and in Siberia as well as in the high altitudes and mountains in Bulgaria. Locations in the Alps are almost always above 2000 meters, the highest at 2700 meters. In the Alps, the species can be found from the French high Alps in the west to the Großglockner area in the east, but the area has interruptions here. The species is quite common in certain areas. It does not occur in Germany.
Way of life
The adults can be found from July or August and until September or October, depending on the altitude. The species is very cold-resistant and has been observed at the edge of snowfields even after snowfall and severe frost. Sometimes there are mass reproductions, so that several specimens can be found per square meter. Due to the stress that this creates, full winged individuals can sometimes be trained.
supporting documents
literature
- Heiko Bellmann : The cosmos locust leader, the species of Central Europe reliably determine , Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co KG, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-440-10447-8 .
Web links
- Images of color variations (accessed February 9, 2011)
- Melanoplus frigidus at Orthoptera.ch