Habitat preferences of three grasshopper species of the Chorthippus biguttulus group (Orthoptera: Acrididae) in the Kaluga Region, central European Russia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33910/2686-9519-2026-18-3-1068-1087Keywords:
Acrididae, habitat, grassland, pine forest, river valley, calling song, activity density, the East European PlainAbstract
The Chorthippus biguttulus group includes several morphologically similar species that can be reliably distinguished by their calling songs. Grasshoppers were identified during 2023–2025 using calling songs and, in earlier years and in material collected using pitfall traps, by morphological features. For each sample plot, several predictors were recorded: habitat type based on vegetation (eight categories), landform (large river valley, medium river valley, or watershed), landscape type based on Quaternary sediments, and a type of surrounding (urban or rural). Species presence–absence was analysed using logistic regression models. Chorthippus biguttulus (Linnaeus, 1758) was the most widespread and eurytopic species, occurring in the great majority of sample plots. It was only rarely recorded in heathlands (open habitats dominated by lichens, mosses, and herbs associated with pine forests) and in medium-sized river valleys. Chorthippus mollis (Charpentier, 1825) was associated with valleys of large and medium-sized rivers within the Kaluga Region. This species preferred short-grass meadows and avoided tall-grass meadows. Chorthippus brunneus (Thunberg, 1815) was associated with dry pine forests and heathlands. Spatial autocorrelation within a radius of 1 km was a significant predictor of the occurrence of Ch. mollis and Ch. brunneus. According to acoustic observations, Ch. mollis was generally an abundant species in short-grass meadows within river valleys, whereas Ch. biguttulus was common in grasslands located on watersheds. Pitfall-trap data showed that Ch. mollis reached very high activity density in suitable habitats. In contrast, Ch. biguttulus and Ch. brunneus did not reach particularly high abundances in their habitats. A type of surrounding did not significantly influence the occurrence of any of the three species, which supports the assumption of high dispersal ability in all three species.
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