Stauroderus scalaris

Stauroderus scalaris, the large mountain grasshopper, is a species of 'short-horned grasshoppers' belonging to the family Acrididae subfamily Gomphocerinae.^[2][3]

Stauroderus scalaris
Stauroderus scalaris, male
Female
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Orthoptera
Suborder:	Caelifera
Family:	Acrididae
Subfamily:	Gomphocerinae
Tribe:	Gomphocerini
Genus:	Stauroderus
Species:	S. scalaris
Binomial name
Stauroderus scalaris (Fischer von Waldheim, 1846)[1]
Synonyms
Chorthippus scalaris (Fischer von Waldheim, 1846)

Subspecies

Stauroderus includes the following subspecies:^[2]

• Stauroderus scalaris demavendi Popov, G.B., 1951
• Stauroderus scalaris scalaris (Fischer von Waldheim, 1846)
• Stauroderus scalaris znojkoi (Miram, 1938)

Description

The adult males grow up to 18–20 millimetres (0.71–0.79 in) long, while the females reach 24–27 millimetres (0.94–1.06 in) of length.^[4] It is the largest species of grasshopper in Europe. The basic coloration of the body varies from pale or bright green to yellow, with dark-brownish wings and tegmina. Femora of hind legs vary from yellow to reddish. In the males median and ulnar wing cells are quite large, with parallel veins. The adults usually live in colonies and the males emit whirring stridulations to attract females.^[4]

These grasshoppers can be encountered from July through September especially in high-altitude alpine meadows and pastures.^[4]

Close-Up of a Stauroderus scalaris

Distribution

This species is present in most of Europe, in the Near East, and in the eastern Palearctic realm.^[2][3]