Grasshoppers in the garden

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JTh

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Grasshoppers in the garden
« on: August 23, 2012, 07:22:23 PM »
The Pella area (northern Greece, west of Thessaloniki) was declared “locust-plagued” following reports from across the area that swarms of the insects have descended on farmland in May this year. The photogenic grasshopper below was seen on one of my roses several years ago, but I have still not found out which species this is, but I don’t think it is one of those causing the plague which also reached other parts of Greece.
Retired veterinary surgeon by training with a PhD in parasitology,  but worked as a virologist since 1992.
Member of the MGS  since 2004. Gardening in Oslo and to a limited extent in Halkidiki, Greece.

Alice

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Re: Grasshoppers in the garden
« Reply #1 on: August 24, 2012, 01:35:10 AM »
Grasshoppers do quite a bit of damage in our garden. We have some huge ones here. Any suggestions on how to get rid of them, apart from ambushing and grabbing them?
Amateur gardener who has gardened in north London and now gardens part of the year on the Cycladic island of Paros. Conditions: coastal, windy, annual rainfall 350mm, temp 0-35 degrees C.

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MikeHardman

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Re: Grasshoppers in the garden
« Reply #2 on: August 24, 2012, 10:14:04 AM »
Jorun: cracking photo; mean bugger he is!
Alice: get some really big praying mantids!
Here's a different one from my garden
« Last Edit: August 24, 2012, 10:18:00 AM by MikeHardman »
Mike
Geologist by Uni training, IT consultant, Referee for Viola for Botanical Society of the British Isles, commissioned author and photographer on Viola for RHS (Enc. of Perennials, The Garden, The Plantsman).
I garden near Polis, Cyprus, 100m alt., on marl, but have gardened mainly in S.England

Jill S

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Re: Grasshoppers in the garden
« Reply #3 on: August 24, 2012, 10:37:23 AM »
Am just re-reading the Gerald Durrell books, and yes, mantids would appear to be a good answer, BUT, they would also consume moths, butterflys and anything else they could get their claws into. So is this another case of moderation required to try to achieve some sort of balence?
Member of RHS and MGS. Gardens in Surrey, UK and, whenever I get the chance, on Paros, Greece where the learning curve is not the only thing that's steep.

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JTh

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Re: Grasshoppers in the garden
« Reply #4 on: August 24, 2012, 10:59:08 AM »
Thanks, Mike, the photo was taken with my first digital camera, which I bought in 1999, I am pleasantly surprised to  see  that the photos  taken with that are still acceptable. And I don't find it mean looking,  I think it is a splendid specimen.

Does anybody know which species this might be? I have so far not seen any signs of much  damage done by these  grasshopper
Retired veterinary surgeon by training with a PhD in parasitology,  but worked as a virologist since 1992.
Member of the MGS  since 2004. Gardening in Oslo and to a limited extent in Halkidiki, Greece.

Alice

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Re: Grasshoppers in the garden
« Reply #5 on: August 24, 2012, 05:11:35 PM »
JTh, your monster might be a Metrioptera roeselii (Roesel's Bush-cricket), possibly a male. If it is, its diet consists of grasses, grass seeds and small insects, which would explain the lack of damage in your garden.
Amateur gardener who has gardened in north London and now gardens part of the year on the Cycladic island of Paros. Conditions: coastal, windy, annual rainfall 350mm, temp 0-35 degrees C.

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JTh

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Re: Grasshoppers in the garden
« Reply #6 on: August 24, 2012, 10:47:23 PM »
I see that the adult  Roesel's bush-crickets are medium sized and between 13–26 mm in length, they are a lot smaller than the one in the photo, which is gigantic in comparison.
Retired veterinary surgeon by training with a PhD in parasitology,  but worked as a virologist since 1992.
Member of the MGS  since 2004. Gardening in Oslo and to a limited extent in Halkidiki, Greece.

Alice

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Re: Grasshoppers in the garden
« Reply #7 on: August 25, 2012, 03:18:27 AM »
The long thin antennae suggest that it is either a cricket (Gryllidae family) or a bush cricket (Tettigoniidae). After studying the photo more carefully I now suspect it might be a lady - I think I detect an ovipositor. Not much help, I am afraid - where are the grasshopper experts??
Amateur gardener who has gardened in north London and now gardens part of the year on the Cycladic island of Paros. Conditions: coastal, windy, annual rainfall 350mm, temp 0-35 degrees C.

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MikeHardman

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Re: Grasshoppers in the garden
« Reply #8 on: August 25, 2012, 07:23:27 AM »
Alice,
One of the places the 'grasshopper experts' are is behind the scenes at http://bugguide.net/node/view/73.
There is a lot of good data there, but it can take a long time to identify a species from its photo.
Mike
Geologist by Uni training, IT consultant, Referee for Viola for Botanical Society of the British Isles, commissioned author and photographer on Viola for RHS (Enc. of Perennials, The Garden, The Plantsman).
I garden near Polis, Cyprus, 100m alt., on marl, but have gardened mainly in S.England

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JTh

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Re: Grasshoppers in the garden
« Reply #9 on: August 25, 2012, 09:44:35 AM »
I have checked your bug-link, Mike, but it did not help much. I believe I found the name of it, though, thanks to the hints from Alice; it seems to be a female Pholidoptera fallax (Fischer's bush cricket), which has a slightly curved oviposititory which is up to 13 mm long. The location is  also right, according to Wikipedia, it is mainly present in Austria, Belgium, France, Italy, Romania, Greece, Slovenia and Switzerland.
The family they belong to (Tettigoniidae) are primarily feeding on small insects, so it seems as if they may be useful in the garden.
Retired veterinary surgeon by training with a PhD in parasitology,  but worked as a virologist since 1992.
Member of the MGS  since 2004. Gardening in Oslo and to a limited extent in Halkidiki, Greece.

Alice

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Re: Grasshoppers in the garden
« Reply #10 on: August 25, 2012, 10:43:00 AM »
Glad you got your man (or in this case, woman), JTh! There seem to be vast numbers of species.
Mike, I thought your entomological expertise might extend to grasshoppers...
Amateur gardener who has gardened in north London and now gardens part of the year on the Cycladic island of Paros. Conditions: coastal, windy, annual rainfall 350mm, temp 0-35 degrees C.

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MikeHardman

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Re: Grasshoppers in the garden
« Reply #11 on: August 25, 2012, 05:21:25 PM »
Alice, thanks for the thought!  No - with grasshoppers, and many other groups of invertebrates, I know only a little. But with every new specimen, I know a little more than I knew before.
Mike
Geologist by Uni training, IT consultant, Referee for Viola for Botanical Society of the British Isles, commissioned author and photographer on Viola for RHS (Enc. of Perennials, The Garden, The Plantsman).
I garden near Polis, Cyprus, 100m alt., on marl, but have gardened mainly in S.England