Perfectly adapted to its habitat and very well camouflaged, the Crau Plain Grasshopper is difficult to observe. Unlike most orthopteran species, it rarely sings. Rather large (between 3.5 and 4.5 cm), with short wings, it is unable to fly and moves little. This lack of mobility makes it even more vulnerable to the fragmentation and degradation of its habitat: the unique dry grassland of the Crau plain, named “coussoul”.
Criquet de Crau mâle © Lisbeth Zechner - CEN PACA
Endemic to the steppe grasslands of the Crau plainnear to Arles, the species has experienced a spectacular decline in the 20th century. Today, there are only three known sub-populations left:
It is listed as Critically Endangered on the global IUCN Red List and on the European Red List as well as on the French and Regional Red Lists. It is protected under French law.
To learn more about the Crau Plain Grasshopper, watch “A secret of the steppe”. This film was produced in 2019 by the animation studio Les Fées Spéciales supervised by the Conservatoire d’espaces naturels Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and the Chamber of Agriculture des Bouches-du-Rhône, both co-managers of the Crau Coussouls National Nature Reserve. It was supported by the following partners: WWF-World Wide Fund for Nature, National Geographic Society, DREAL Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Conseil départemental des Bouches-du-Rhône and Carrière de la Menudelle.
Scientific name: Prionotropis rhodanica Uvarov, 1923
Family: Pamphagidae. Only two species in France belong to this family. Both are endemic, endangered and protected (the second is the French Stone Grasshopper Prionotropis azami)
Size: Male 3.5 cm; female 4.5 cm
The Crau Plain grasshopper spends most of the year in egg stage. The juveniles hatch at the beginning of April; after five moults, they reach the adult stage towards the end of May, depending on the weather conditions. Adults can be observed until the end of June or beginning of July.
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