Oedipoda caerulescens

Blue -winged grasshopper ( Oedipoda caerulescens )

The Blue -winged grasshopper ( Oedipoda caerulescens ) is a species of the wasteland horror ( Oedipodinae ) within the Grasshopper ( caelifera ). The name derives from the blue wing patterns of the animals as well as their preference for dry and vegetated habitats.

Features

The males of the blue -winged grasshopper reach a body size of 13-23 mm, the females are 20 to 29 millimeters in size, significantly larger than the males. The thorax ( chest ), is strong and the abdomen ( tummy) relatively slim. The animals have long, narrow wings and relatively short but powerful jumping legs.

The basic color of animals is like the other species of the genus Oedipoda a fine to coarse mottled gray-brown, the type is very color and pattern variable. The color can range from light gray to almost black rich, even ocher and reddish-brown stains are commonly found. This is an adaptation to the substrate, which is formed gradually in the individual larval molts, but adult animals are still capable of a color change. The elytra and the hind legs have two to three wide dark stripes, which are indistinct in very bright and very dark copies. The most striking feature is the translucent blue color of the hind wings, which contains a dark transverse band. When Rotflügeligen grasshopper very closely related ( Oedipoda germanica ) these wings drawing is bright red. The rails ( tibiae ) of the hind legs may have a slight blue tint.

• Color variations

Distribution and habitat

This species is the most widespread species of the genus Oedipoda in Europe. Its distribution area covers the whole of the Mediterranean and the European continent to a northern distribution limit in northern Germany, isolated populations, there are still in Denmark and southern Sweden. In the British Isles it is not native to the East the dissemination ranges may to Mongolia. In Germany it is more common in the south, in the north- west it is absent in large areas and can only be found on sun-exposed areas. In the area of Aachen, a population was discovered in 1987 on a slag heap of coal mining in the past 50 years, a smoldering exists that keeps the heap dry and warm. In Lower Lusatia is a frequent guest on heaths and in the environment of opencast lignite mines or their residual holes. In Switzerland and in Austria it occurs locally. It is protected in the whole of Europe and is classified as endangered in the Red List of Switzerland and Germany.

The animals prefer dry warm Kahl and wasteland areas with very sparse vegetation such as those found on dry grassland, in sand pits or gravel surfaces. Sometimes they are also found on very small bald patches, but they must be reachable by a path Kahl, such as a fairway or sand or dry strip. You can very greatly extend the hike over these aisles their radius of action and habitat, especially in high summer, where caused by dried up vegetation more barren areas. In stable habitat conditions, they remain however high site fidelity.

Way of life

Like the other wasteland of terror is the blue -winged grasshopper especially adapted to life on the ground and moves away almost exclusively as possible. Your climbing ability is restricted to the exceed of smaller objects, vertical plant structures they almost never climb. For the reason they avoid dense vegetation standing and keep on clear surfaces. However, you can also fly very well, but mostly only use this for distances of about 10 meters and land after their flights again on corresponding cleared areas. It feeds on smaller plants in the cleared areas and at the edge thereof. In feeding trials no food preferences have been observed for certain plants, and animals were observed during Befressen of carrion in the wild.

The escape behavior of the wasteland horror is unique among jumping terror. They rely largely on their camouflage by the coloration and crouch accordingly as an escape reflex on the floor instead, like other horror jump away. Only at a very low flight distance jump off and fly a few meters. Shortly before landing they hit a sharp hook and after landing crouch again near rocks or other structures. In experiments it was also shown that the wasteland horror prefer to stay on such a surface that matches their color.

Mating behavior and oviposition

Unlike many other short and long horned crickets there in the blue-winged wasteland of terror no courtship behavior, which precedes a pairing. The males do not produce a promotional song and instead look actively for females from the environment. Do they have a female found, there may be a short chirping, the rule is, however, that the males simply move toward the females and climb them. If the female is willing to mate, it lets this happen, in the other case it defends the male with kicks from.

An interesting observation in this species is that the males apparently have only a very inaccurate picture of the appearance of their females. For this reason, they also try to pair with other locusts females or just with pieces of wood or other objects that they find in their search. Their mistake, they realize only when climbing. It happens also that several males will copulate with a female at the same time and thereby interfere with each other when climbing. The females usually respond after a short time with Paarungsunwilligkeit and defend the males with the hind legs off.

Eggs are laid in the ground shortly after mating by the female, and it deeply drills his abdomen with the egg-laying apparatus ( ovipositor ) into the earth. The eggs overwinter and hatch the nymphs in the spring of the following year. The trend is for the males four, in the females five moulting stages, wherein the color of the skin with the moulting of the coloring of the substrate approaches.

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