La Cabane is a Zone Naturelle d'Intérêt Ecologique, Faunistique et Floristique that I have been monitoring for some years. It is grassland with scrub, surrounding a former kaolin extraction pit which is now full of water. The site is waterlogged in the winter, hot and dry in the summer. In early September Ingrid and I visited to survey for the caterpillar food plants of a rare moth. We didn't find any of the target species but we did take the opportunity to record and photograph these grasshoppers.
Broad Green Winged Grasshopper Aiolopus strepens (Fr. Oedipode autumnal or criquet farouche): The hind tibiae are red, the femora particularly thick, and the wing cases have a characteristic clear contrasting pattern of two pale spots. The wings are bluish at the base and have a dark spot at the tip. The species is found in the southern half of France, and Corsica, on hot dry sites.
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| Photo courtesy of Ingrid de Winter. |
Jersey Grasshopper Euchorthippus declivus (Fr. Criquet du brome): A species that favours long grass on dry calcareous soil. Typically they have wings that are shorter than their abdomen, but long winged individuals are sometimes seen.
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| Photo courtesy of Ingrid de Winter. |
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| Photo courtesy of Ingrid de Winter. |
Woodland Grasshopper Omocestus rufipes (Fr. Criquet noir ébène): This species is found throughout Europe and northern Asia. In France it is present in most areas, but absent from Finisterre and Paris and surrounds. The abdomen is green at the front, turning yellow in the middle and red at the tip. The legs often have some red too. This grasshopper isn't fussy and will live in a range of habitats. It can be found in hot arid grassland, rocky areas, but also damp grassland and fallow ground. Adults can be seen from June to November.
Female.
Male
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| Photo courtesy of Ingrid de Winter. |
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