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Our science is published in a variety of formats. Click here for more information. We also attend events and conferences in the UK, within Europe, and at venues around the world.Grasshoppers and crickets to help track climate change – 17 September 2008
Grasshoppers, along with Bush crickets, are to become part of a new monitoring system to track climate changes. In November 2008 a web-based scheme will be launched to allow the public to record sightings of all 27 native species of grasshoppers and crickets (Orthoptera) in Britain.
The new scheme is based on the system that enabled scientists to follow the spread of harlequin ladybirds, an invasive species that competes with and often eats native ladybirds. The Harlequin arrived in the UK in 2004 and has spread rapidly. The public reporting system that was introduced to monitor the ladybird is regarded by scientists as an outstanding success and they now intend to use it to find out how climate change is affecting other insects.
Dr Helen Roy from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology is involved in both the Harlequin reporting scheme and the new Orthoptera scheme. Dr Roy said “The Harlequin scheme was a great way to get people involved in recording wildlife and we receive very high-quality data. We now want to expand on-line recording to other groups of insects and we’ve chosen grasshoppers and crickets because they are both charismatic and also some species are showing evidence of range expansion within the UK.”
Grasshoppers and crickets are regarded as valuable indicators of climate change because in many ways they are more sensitive to it than other insects. Long-winged Coneheads, a type of cricket species, have been expanding into new territories as temperatures have risen under climate change. Until the 1980s they were confined to the South Coast, but they can now be found north of Leicester. Similarly Roesel’s Bush cricket was largely restricted to the Thames and Solent Estuaries in the mid-20th century, but is now seen across Britain.
Peter Sutton, a science teacher and authority on grasshoppers and crickets, has been closely involved in developing the new scheme. Dr. Sutton said, "The remarkable range expansions observed for some Orthoptera species over the last two decades have shown, unequivocally, that where species are capable of exploiting new habitats, they have done so. Moreover, the profound changes that we have observed to date are clearly only the tip of the iceberg.”
Researchers are convinced that once members of the public “get their eye in” they will be able to spot all 27 Orthoptera species, along with a handful of foreign visitors.
If you want to become a volunteer helping document a range of species including grasshoppers, crickets, butterflies and the spread of alien invaders please contact the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology enquiries team.
Additional information
Media enquiries about this work should be directed to the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology press office.
Orthoptera are an order of insects that have enlarged hind legs which accommodate muscles for jumping. Modern taxonomic studies suggest that earwigs (Dermaptera), stick insects (Phasmida), cockroaches and preying mantids (Dicytoptera) are distinct from the Orthoptera but historically they were considered to be closely related. Therefore, the UK Orthoptera Recording Scheme encompasses these additional groups.
The order Orthoptera is divided into two major divisions: Ensifera (true crickets) and Caelifera (true grasshoppers). Ensifera includes the families Gryllidae (crickets) and Tettigoniidae (bush crickets; long horn grasshoppers referring to their long antennae). Caelifera encompasses the true grasshoppers in the family Acrididae (short horn grasshoppers referring to their short antennae).
Links
UK Biological Records Centre (managed and hosted by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology)
Harlequin Ladybird Recording Scheme
Media coverage
Grasshoppers are recruited as climate change scouts – The Times - 15 September 2008
Map of the Week: Climate Change and Crickets – BBC Online - 16 September 2008
Orthoptera facts
There are 27 native species of Orthoptera but other species are arriving in the UK as a consequence of climate change. The name Orthoptera comes from the Greek for straight winged and all have straight veined leathery textured forewings
Some grasshoppers lay their eggs in the soil and then inject froth that mixes with the soil to form an egg pod.
Orthoptera can produce up to five songs during courtship: normal song, courtship song, assault song, copulation song and the rivals duet.
The egg laying organ of Orthoptera is called the ovipositor and this structure varies in form and can be used to identify different species.
There is a parasitic fly that lays her young (larvae) onto the body of adult grasshoppers. These larvae invade the grasshopper and consume much of their insides before emerging from the grasshopper head. They fall to the soil where the parasite pupates, completing its life cycle.
Orthoptera had exciting times during the ice age; a time when they were forced to inhabit restricted zones (ice free locations in southern Europe). As the ice retreated they were able to expand across Europe and different populations met forming hybrid zones. The different Orthoptera races developed new songs and differed genetically.
