Little heather grasshopper
| Little heather grasshopper | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Stenobothrus stigmaticus (male) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Stenobothrus stigmaticus | ||||||||||||
| ( Rambur , 1838) |
The small heather grasshopper ( Stenobothrus stigmaticus ) is a small field locust species in Europe and Western Asia. He lives in short grassed, poor meadows and grasslands . In Germany it is endangered , in Austria it is even very endangered.
features
It is a remarkably small grasshopper, females reach 15 to 20 millimeters, males 11 to 15 millimeters body length. The fore wings ( tegmina ) are somewhat shortened in the female, of normal length in the male and reach the tip of the abdomen here. They are narrow, in females narrower than the width of the hind legs. The basic color of the animals is mostly green, more rarely olive brown. Often the side keels of the pronotum, the upper side of the tegmina and the posterior rails are colored yellow, and the tip of the abdomen, especially on the upper side, is colored red. Usually the head also has a yellow longitudinal stripe behind the eyes on both sides, and the lower edge of the forewings usually also has a yellow line. As is typical of the genus Stenobothrus , the side keels of the pronotum are weakly curved, they are about half further apart at the rear edge of the pronotum than in the middle; the pronotum also has a central keel. The front edge of the Tegmina is straight, without the extended precostal field of the genus Chorthippus . The valves of the ovipositor of the female are clearly toothed on the outside.
The species can be distinguished from Omocestus haemorrhoidalis by the shape of the pronotum side keels (slightly curved, not kinked). From Stenobothrus lineatus and Stenobothrus nigromaculatus already differs significantly smaller body size. The formation and coloring of the medial field of the upper wing is also important. This is veined in parallel, but only slightly widened, shorter than in S. nigromaculatus and usually somewhat, but not as pronounced, with black spots. Distinguish from Myrmeleotettix maculatus , especially in the male sex, in that the antennae is clearly culled and bent outwards at the tip.
The singing of the little heather grasshopper is relatively quiet. It consists of a series of rapidly lined up, similar tones, each of which is generated by the synchronous up and down movement of both hind legs, onomatopoeically described as "chichichichi". The individual syllables take less than three seconds. If a female has been attracted and comes closer, it changes to a different advertising chant. The parallel movement is given up, the two legs alternate at the beginning of the respective syllable.
Life cycle
Females of the species lay their eggs in the plant litter or on the surface in the ground. The larvae hatch in the spring of the following year. The first larvae are available around the end of May to the beginning of June and are therefore relatively late compared to related species. The species goes through four larval stages. Adults appear in Central Europe around the beginning of July until the first night frosts, around mid-October. The longest documented lifespan of a tagged individual was 57 days.
habitat
The small heather grasshopper is a stubborn species, it lives exclusively in poor, short-grass meadows with gaps in turf, so that there are areas with open ground. It prefers acid soil Nardus grasslands , sheep fescue and sand dry grasslands and grassy heaths , but also comes in Kalktrockenrasen before, for example in Diemeltal. Occasionally, similarly structured substitute habitats are assumed, for example appropriately structured clearcuts or clearings and forest edges. In the northern parts of the distribution area, only heat-favored, mostly south-exposed areas are accepted; it occurs as far as the sea coast (on dune grass in the Netherlands). To the south he lives increasingly in the mountains. The highest evidence in the Alps is in Bärental near Glashütten (municipality of Gressenberg ), Styria, at 1615 meters above sea level, in the Balkans it is also 2,000 meters. The species prefers extensively expanded pastures , especially cattle pastures. According to results from the Pyrenees and Asturias , the species is promoted by intensive grazing. Although mostly in dry or freshly ground habitats, the species occasionally occurs in habitats that are wet under special conditions, for example in the Upper Swabian moors. It settles open here, sunlit peatlands with densely felted sheep's fescue calcareous grasslands.
distribution
The species colonizes most of Europe, from southern Spain to Scandinavia, in the east it reaches south-east Lithuania on the Baltic coast. In the southeast it reaches European Russia via the Balkan Peninsula and northern Greece. In Italy south of the Alps it has been replaced by its extremely similar sister species Stenobothrus apenninus . Information from Turkey in Asia Minor is available, but may be incorrect determinations. From Great Britain there is only a single, completely isolated record of the Isle of Man . There is also only one isolated find from Morocco from North Africa; the animals found here are assigned to their own subspecies. In Central Europe it is widespread, but patchy and mostly rare. In Germany and Austria it is widespread in all parts of the country, but is absent in all landscapes in which its habitat claims are not fulfilled. In north-east Germany it is generally very rare, north of a line from the northern Harz to Upper Lusatia there are only a few isolated outposts. In Switzerland it occurs only in the Jura .
Taxonomy and Phylogeny
Stenobothrus stigmaticus was first described by Pierre Rambur as Gryllus stigmaticus in 1838 . A distinction is often made between three subspecies.
- Stenobothrus stigmaticus stigmaticus
- Stenobothrus stigmaticus faberi Harz , 1975 Specified for Eastern Europe. The subspecies is not recognized by most taxonomists.
- Stenobothrus stigmaticus katamensis Nadig , 1979, only on the Ketama plateau, Rif mountains , Morocco .
A phylogenomic analysis (sequence comparison of the mitochondrial gene CO1 ) showed the genus Stenobothrus to be paraphyletic. Stenobothrus stigmaticus would therefore be more closely related to species of the genera Myrmeleotettix and Omocestus than to the other Stenobothrus species. In a morphological analysis, the species group around Stenobothrus stigmaticus also comprised four Omocestus species.
Species protection
The main reasons for the decline in the population of the small heather grasshopper in Central Europe are: the decline in grassland locations due to intensive agriculture, but also due to abandonment with subsequent natural succession , a lack of biotope interconnection between the remaining areas, a decline in hat shepherding. Since the females of the species are unable to fly, they are unable to colonize isolated habitats. In the past, animals stuck in the fleece were repeatedly exchanged between areas by migrating sheep. Lower Saxony has launched a species protection program for the species.
Individual evidence
- ^ Kurt Harz: Geradflügler or Orthoptera. In Friedrich Dahl (founder): The animal world of Germany and the adjacent parts of the sea. 46th part. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Jena 1960.
- ↑ Heiko Bellmann: Observe and determine locusts. Naturbuch Verlag, Augsburg 2nd edition 1993. ISBN 3-89440-028-5
- ↑ a b c d e Peter Detzel: The locusts of Baden-Württemberg. Eugen Ulmer Verlag 1998. ISBN 3-8001-3507-8
- ↑ a b c Dirk Berger (2008): The evolution of complex coutship songs in the genus Stenobothrus Fieber, 1853 (Orthoptera, Caelifers, Gomphocerinae). Diss., University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.
- ↑ Martin Oschmann (1993): Species differences in the phenology of grasshoppers (Saltatoria). Articulata 8 (1): 35-43.
- ↑ Dominik Poniatowski & Thomas Fartmann (2006): The grasshopper fauna of the poor grassland complexes of the Diemel Valley (East Westphalia / North Hesse). Articulata 21 (1): 1-23.
- ↑ a b Anton Koschuh & Lisbeth Zechner (2006): Current and historical evidence of selected species of grasshoppers in Styria, Austria - Part II: Caelifera (Saltatoria). Joannea Zoologie 8: 68-85.
- ↑ a b Siegfrid Ingrisch (1981): On the spread of orthoptera in Hessen. Announcements from the International Entomological Association Frankfurt a. M. Volume 6 Nos. 2-3: 29-58.
- ^ Jaap Bouwman (2005): Vondst van het schavertje Stenobothrus stigmaticus in Zeeland (Orthoptera). Nederlandse faunistische mededelingen 23: 33-36.
- ↑ Josefina Isern-Vallverdu & César Pedrocchi (1994): Effect of the abandonment of mountain pastures on the Orthoptera populations in the northwest of Spain. Articulata 9 (2): 15-23.
- ↑ Berta M. Jauregui, Rocio Rosa-Garcia, Urcesino Garcia, Michiel F. Wallis DeVries, Koldo Osoro, Rafael Celaya (2008): Effects of stocking density and breed of goats on vegetation and grasshopper occurrence in heathlands. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 123: 219–224 doi : 10.1016 / j.agee.2007.06.004
- ^ Eduardas Budrys & Saulius Pakalniškis (2007): The Orthoptera (Insecta) of Lithuania. Acta Zoologica Lituanica Volume 17, Number 2: 105-115.
- ↑ Lesser Mottled Grasshopper at Orthoptera & Allied Insects ( Memento of the original from January 1, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Andrew Cherrill (1994): The current status of the lesser mottled grasshopper, Stenobothrus stigmaticus (Rambur) on the Isle of Man. British Journal of Entomology And Natural History 7: 53-58. Full text source
- ^ A b Adolf Nadig (1979): Contributions to the knowledge of the Orthoptera of Morocco IV: Stenobothrus stigmaticus ketamensis ssp. n., another species of Angar origin in the mountains of Morocco with critical remarks on the measurement method for some taxonomically important characteristics. Revue Suisse de Zoologie 86: 399-411 full text source
- ↑ Stenobothrus stigmaticus at Orthoptera.ch
- ↑ Stenobothrus stigmaticus in the Orthoptera Species File online (Version 5.0 / 5.0)
- ^ Armin Coray and Arne W. Lehmann (1998): Taxonomy of the grasshoppers of Germany (Orthoptera): Formal aspects of scientific names. Articulata Supplement 7: 63-152.
- ↑ Varvara Vedenina & Nikolay Mugue (2011): Speciation in gomphocerine grasshoppers: molecular phylogeny versus bioacoustics and courtship behavior. Journal of Orthoptera Research 20 (1): 109-125.
- ↑ Stephan Maas, Peter Detzel, Aloysius Staudt: Risk analysis of the grasshoppers in Germany. Results from the R + D project 89886015 of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. Bonn-Bad Godesberg 2002. ISBN 3-7843-3828-3
- ↑ SFFischer, P.Poschlod, B.Beinlich (1993): The importance of migratory sheep for the species exchange between isolated sheep. In: Beinlich, B. & Plachter, H. (editor) A nature conservation concept for the limestone grasslands of the Middle Swabian Alb (Baden-Württemberg): Protection, use and development, supplements to the publications for nature conservation and landscape management in Baden-Württemberg 83: 229 - 356. (Not proven for the species itself there, but for a number of related species with a similar way of life)
- ↑ Lower Saxony State Agency for Water Management, Coastal Protection and Nature Conservation (NLWKN) (editor) (2011): Implementation instructions for the protection of invertebrate species in Lower Saxony. - Invertebrate species with priority for conservation and development measures - Small heather grasshopper (Stenobothrus stigmaticus). Lower Saxony strategy for species and biotope protection, Hanover, 8 pp.
