Description  / Habitats / Flora / Vertebrates / Insects / Invertebrates / What's that Bug?  

    Home / Nesto Delta / Bibliography / About this site / Links / Contents / Galleries 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

GRASSHOPPERS AND THEIR ALLIES

(ORTHOPTERA AND DICTYOPTERA)

The Orthoptera are a prominent feature of the wildlife of the Mediterranean, from the ubiquitous trilling of the bush-crickets to the splash of colour from the hind-wings of grasshoppers as they fly up beneath your feet. The songs of the Orthoptera fill the air from hedgerows and scrub but it can be very difficult to locate the source and identify the species involved. Around towns, such as Limenas, I suspect the tree-cricket (Oecanthus pelluscens) is the main species involved, although it would also appear that house crickets Acheta domestica are also widely distributed given the chorus that emanates from many balconies at night. It is also at night that the preying mantis Mantis religiosa is most often seen as adults frequently visit artificial lights, presumably attracted by the presence of numerous moths.

During the day, many different grasshopper species can be flushed on walking through rough grassland in the lowlands. Two of the more conspicuous are the blue-winged grasshopper Oedipoda caerulescens and the Italian locust Calliptamus italicus with pale red hindwings. The colour is only briefly exposed in flight and once at rest the grasshoppers are camouflaged against their background once again.

The first author to report on the Orthopteroids of Thásos appears to have been Werner (1938), recording five bush-cricket and eight grasshopper species. In October 1942 and June 1943 Marinov (1959) undertook a survey of the Orthoptera and related Orders, recording 21 species (plus two earwigs). In light of recent taxonomic revisions, Dr Arne Lehmann has pointed out that some of Marinov's records are probably invalid and require confirmation. Kaltenbach (1965) reported on the species he recorded during day visits to Thásos in July 1962 and July 1964, recording twelve species. Willemse (1984), in his thorough review of Greek Orthoptera (sensu stricta), reports 20 species as occurring on Thásos, including  records for two species (Decticus verrucivorus and Eupholidoptera smyrnensis) not reported from Thásos by earlier authors.

From my own observations I can add another thirteen taxa: the striking diminutive cockroach Phyllodromica marginata, frequent amongst leaf litter in old olive groves; the mantis Geomantis larvoides (common on Skala Potamias dunes); the ground-hopper Paratettix meridionalis; the crickets Trigonidium cicindeloides and Arachnocephalus vestitus; the tree-cricket Oecanthus pelluscens; the house cricket Acheta domestica; the pygmy mole cricket Xya pfaendleri; and the grasshoppers Acrotylus longipes, Chorthippus bornhalmi, Oedipoda germanica and Platypygius crassus. I have also seen mole crickets Gryllotalpa sp. in several localities, notably the Agora in Thassos Town and alongside a sandy river at Skala Potamias where hundreds of mole crickets had burrowed into the newly dredged banks of a sandy watercourse. Whilst Kaltenbach (1965) records G. gryllotalpa from the adjacent mainland coast, it is now known that two similar species occur in Greece, only separable at present on chromosome number in the male, and further studies are required to clarify which taxon occurs on the island. Similarly, speckled bush crickets Leptophyes sp. and dark bush crickets 'Pholidoptera' sp. are not uncommon in scrubby areas in the lowlands but material needs collecting to determine which of the likely species is present.

Gorochov (1995) described the scaly scricket Pseudomogoplistes byzantius from specimens collected in several countries, including a male captured on the beach at Limenaria, Thásos, in 1990. The ‘cave cricket’ Dolichopoda thasosensis was described in 1964 from specimens found in the cave known as Drakotrypa at Panagia (Chopard 1964). This was thought, until recently, to be the sole locality for this endemic species. The life cycle has been described by Boudou-Saltet (1982). Richard Trafford visited Drakotrypa in May 2005 and saw two of the crickets on the wall of the cave. In May 2008 Lance Chilton discovered several  Dolichopoda crickets behind stacked furniture inside the Agios Nikolaos chapel in woodland between Potamia and Panagia. The remote possibility exists that these represent a different species but it seems more likely that Agios Nikolaos is a second locality for D. thasosensis and this discovery raises interesting questions about the ecology of this 'cave cricket'.

 

In 2002 Lance Chilton reported several Gryllomorpha type crickets under flat stones in woodland above Panagia and Potamia. A specimen I collected in 2005 from Potamia appears to be Gryllomorpha dalmatina (Ocksay, 1832), which is the most likely candidate of the six species known from Greece, but further material will be required for microscopic examination to confirm the identity of this interesting discovery.To date, fifty-one taxa have been reported from the island, but no doubt there is much still to discover. 

As part of the major series Fauna Graeciae, the Hellenic Zoological Society has published a comprehensive treatment of the Orthoptera of Greece (Willemse 1984, 1985a, 1985b) but no such treatment of the Dictyoptera has been produced. However, it is evident that the island supports several native species, as well as the usual cosmopolitan introductions. I am grateful to Dr Arne Lehmann for help in unravelling some of the taxonomic problems associated with Orthoptera in Greece.

 

 

 

ORTHOPTERA & DICTYOPTERA CHECKLIST 

DICTYOPTERA: BLATTODEA

Phyllodromica marginata

 

DICTYOPTERA: MANTODEA

Mantis religiosa L. Preying mantis 

Empusa fasciata (Brullé)

Ameles heldreichi Br. v. W.

Geomantis larvoides Pantel

Iris oratoria L.

 

ORTHOPTERA: RHAPHIDOPHORIDAE

Dolichopoda thasosensis Chopard

 

ORTHOPTERA: TETTIGONIIDAE

Tylopsis liliifoliae F.

Acrometopa servillea (Brullé)

Poecilimon brunneri Friv.

Tettigonia viridissima L.

Decticus verrucivorus (L.)

Platycleis intermedia Serv.

Incertana incerta Br.v.W.

Eupholidoptera smyrnensis (Br.v.W.)

Bucephaloptera bucephala (Br.v.W.)

Rhacocleis germanica (H.-S.)

 

ORTHOPTERA: MOGOPLISTIDAE

Arachnocephalus vestitus Costa

Pseudomogoplistes byzantius Gorochov Scaly cricket 

 

ORTHOPTERA: GRYLLIDAE

Trigonidium cicindeloides Rambur 

Oecanthus pellucens (Scopoli) Tree-cricket 

Acheta domesticus (L.) House cricket 

Gryllomorpha cf. dalmatina (Ocksay)

Gryllus campestris L. Field cricket 

Melanogryllulus desertus (Pallas)

 

ORTHOPTERA: GRYLLOTALPIDAE

Gryllotalpa sp. Mole cricket 

 

ORTHOPTERA: TRIDACTYLIDAE

Xya pfaendleri (Harz) Pygmy mole cricket

 

ORTHOPTERA: ACRIDIIDAE

Pezotettix giornae (Rossi)

Tropidopola graeca Uvarov

Acrida ungarica (Herbst)

Calliptamus italicus (L.) Italian locust  

Calliptamus barbarus Costa

Anacrydium aegyptium (L.) Egyptian grasshopper 

Locust migratoria L. Migratory locust 

Oedalus decorus (Germ.)

Oedipoda caerulescens L. Blue-winged grasshopper 

Oedipoda germanica (Latreille)

Oedipoda miniata (Pallas)

Acrotylus longipes (Charpentier)

Acrotylus patruelis H.-S.

Aiolopus thalassinus F. Long-winged grasshopper 

Aiolopus strepens (Latr.)

Platypygius crassus (Karny)

Dociostaurus maroccanus Thunb.

Chorthippus bornhalmi Harz Field grasshopper 

Chorthippus parallelus (Zett.) Meadow grasshopper 

 

ORTHOPTERA: TETRIGIDAE

Dasyleurotettix depressus (Brisout)

Paratettix meridionalis (Rambur, 1838)

 

Species requiring confirmation (per Dr A. Lehmann):

Sphingonotus caerulans L. Slender blue-winged grasshopper (this taxon, reported by Marinov, is probably referrable to S. rubescens (Walker, 1870))

Tetrix subulata (L.) Slender groundhopper ( reported by Marinov, subulata is possible but confirmation is required)

[note: Chorthippus brunneus Thunb., reported by Marinov, will be referrable to C. bornhalmi. Recent taxonomic research has shown the brunneus agg. to consist of several species and bornhalmi is the taxon represented in north-east Greece]

REFERENCES

Boudou-Saltet, P. 1982. Les Dolichopodes (Orth. Rhaph.) de Grčce. X. Le cycle biologique (en Elevage) des espčces D. petrochilosi et D. thasosensis. Biologia Gallo-Hellenica,9: 277-284.

Chopard, L. 1964. Descriptions d'Orthoptčres cavernicoles de Grčce. Bull. Soc. ent. Fr. 69: 17-20.

Gorochov, A.V. 1995. Two new species of the genus Pseudomogoplistes Gorochov (Orthoptera: Mogoplistidae). Zoosystematica Rossica, 3: 249-250.

Kaltenbach, A. 1965. Dictyoptera und Orthopteroidea von Nordost-Griechenland und der Insel Thasos. Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien, 68: 465-484.

Marinov, T. 1959. Beitrag zur erforschung der Orthopteren von der Insel Thasos und der Agäischen Küste. Izv. zool. Inst. Sof., 8: 279-283.

Werner, F. 1938. Ergebnisse der achten zoologischen Forschungsreise nach Griechenland. SB. Akad. Wiss Wien, Mathen-naturw. Kl.,147: 151-173.

Willemse, F. 1984. The Catalogue of the Orthoptera of Greece. Fauna Graeciae, Volume 1.

Willemse, F. 1985a. Supplementary notes on the Orthoptera of Greece. Fauna Graeciae, Volume 1a.

Willemse, F. 1985b. A key to the Orthoptera of Greece. Fauna Graeciae, Volume 2.