Steppe saddle insect

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Steppe saddle insect
Male steppe saddle insect (Ephippiger ephippiger)

Male steppe saddle insect ( Ephippiger ephippiger )

Systematics
Subordination : Long- probe horror (Ensifera)
Superfamily : Tree locusts (Tettigonioidea)
Family : Tettigoniidae
Subfamily : Bradyporinae
Genre : Ephippiger
Type : Steppe saddle insect
Scientific name
Ephippiger ephippiger
( Fibig , 1784)
Female saddle bug with laying tube

The steppe saddle horror ( Ephippiger ephippiger ) is the only representative of the saddle horror (Bradyporinae), a subfamily of the long - feeler horror in Central Europe . It reaches a length of up to 30 millimeters and is not to be confused with any other native species , especially due to the structure of the pronotum .

features

The unmistakable pronotum of this species has a funnel-shaped bulge in the rear half after a sharp kink, hence the name saddle cricket. The wings have receded into short stumps that protrude just below the pronotum. The saddle insect is unable to fly, but can use its wings to generate sounds ( stridulation ), with the pronotum acting as a horn . The singing consists of loud, very sharp double tones, the second of which is a bit elongated. Both sexes can produce the singing.

The male has short, conical cerci , the female a long, narrow, slightly curved laying tube .

Another typical feature is the black horizontal line on the back of the head, which protrudes from under the pronotum when the head is lowered.

Habitat and Distribution

The steppe saddle insect needs dry and hot habitats and in Germany only inhabits heat islands. It has a very small distribution area here, which essentially only includes wine-growing areas in Rhineland-Palatinate ( Haardtrand , Nahetal , Mosel valley ). Even within these areas, it is usually only found in small-scale biotopes, especially in abandoned vineyards with bush structures. The steppe saddle insect is threatened in its entire range due to the intensification of viticulture, partly also through tourism and the creation of building areas.

Overall, heather , forest clearings and maquis are preferred. The species is widespread in southern Europe and southern central Europe .

literature

  • Heiko Bellmann : Locusts: observe, determine . Naturbuch Verlag 1993, ISBN 3-89440-028-5
  • Heiko Bellmann: grasshoppers. The voices of 61 native species. CD, Amp Europe 2004, ISBN 3-935329-48-2
  • Siegfried Ingrisch, Günther Köhler: The locusts of Central Europe . Westarp Sciences 1998, ISBN 3-89432-461-9
  • Josef Szijj: Europe's jumping horrors . Die Neue Brehm-Bücherei, Volume 652. Westarp-Wissenschaften, Hohenwarsleben 2004, ISBN 3-89432-910-6
  • Heinrich Tauscher: Our locusts . Kosmos Franckh'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1986, ISBN 3-440-05617-1
  • Peter Detzel: The locusts of Baden-Württemberg . Verlag Eugen Ulmer 1998, pp. 282-287 r., ISBN 3-8001-3507-8

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Joachim and Hiriko Haupt: Insects and arachnids on the Mediterranean. Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-440-06030-6 , p. 148

Web links

Commons : Steppen-Sattelschrecke  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files