Oedaleus australis

Australian Oedaleus at Dunlop, ACT

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Identification history

	Oedaleus australis	27 Nov 2019	RogerF
	Unidentified	27 Nov 2019	CathB

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User's notes

Pink and green!

3 comments

CathB wrote:

28 Nov 2019

Thanks Roger. I was surprised by the colour. Terrible pictures unfortunately, but it really was very pink. Is this a common colour for grasshoppers?

RogerF wrote:

29 Nov 2019

Pink, red and purple colour patterns are not uncommon in grasshoppers and katydids. Colouration is determined by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Nymphs developing in moist green vegetation often have a preponderence of green morhs whereas those developing in a dry brown background have a preponderance of brown and straw coloured morphs. Black forms are common inburnt habitats. These colours presumably aid camouflage and protection from predators. I'm not sure what the pink colouration is due to. I have sent separately an example of an adult with purple markings

CathB wrote:

30 Nov 2019

Interesting, but the purple blends into the background a bit, especially the way it is broken up. I can't think of anywhere in the area where pink would be useful camouflage, at least to human colour vision. Perhaps the colour would be less visible to the grasshopper's natural predators?

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Location information

Sighting information

1 Abundance
25 Nov 2019 06:06 PM Recorded on
CathB Recorded by
Collections
Insects Grasshoppers (several families) Grasshoppers, Crickets & Katydids (Orthoptera) CathB

Additional information

12mm to 25mm Animal size

Species information

Oedaleus australis Scientific name
Australian Oedaleus Common name
Not Sensitive
Local native
Non-invasive or negligible
Up to 1186.23m Recorded at altitude
Machine learning
External link More information

Record quality

Images or audio
More than one media file
Verified by an expert moderator
Nearby sighting(s) of same species
GPS evidence of location
Description
Additional attributes