Hot Pink - _TNY_0697 (In Explore 2/10 2017)
This colourful little chap is a nymph of either bow-winged grasshopper (Chorthippus biguttulus) or common field grasshopper (Chorthippus brunneus).
Before taking its adult form, there is no real way to identify which of the two species it belongs to.
Normally, neither of these have this amazing colour, but due to a condition called erythrism (aka erythrochroism) they turn pink. This is not exclusive to grasshoppers and as I understand it, any animal can suffer from it, but it is much more common in grasshoppers than in other animals. Typically this is seen in nymphs for the simple reason that the colour makes them become spotted more easily so few of them survive into adulthood.
Hot Pink - _TNY_0697 (In Explore 2/10 2017)
This colourful little chap is a nymph of either bow-winged grasshopper (Chorthippus biguttulus) or common field grasshopper (Chorthippus brunneus).
Before taking its adult form, there is no real way to identify which of the two species it belongs to.
Normally, neither of these have this amazing colour, but due to a condition called erythrism (aka erythrochroism) they turn pink. This is not exclusive to grasshoppers and as I understand it, any animal can suffer from it, but it is much more common in grasshoppers than in other animals. Typically this is seen in nymphs for the simple reason that the colour makes them become spotted more easily so few of them survive into adulthood.