Pseudochorthippus parallelus

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Species of grasshopper

title: "Pseudochorthippus parallelus" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["gomphocerinae", "orthoptera-of-asia", "orthoptera-of-europe", "insects-described-in-1821"] description: "Species of grasshopper" topic_path: "general/gomphocerinae" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudochorthippus_parallelus" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Species of grasshopper ::

| image = Chorthippus parallelus 1944.jpg | image_caption = Male | image2 = Chorthippus parallelus qtl3.jpg | image2_caption = Female | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = (Europe region assessment) | genus = Pseudochorthippus | species = parallelus | authority = (Zetterstedt, 1821) | display_parents = 3 | synonyms =

  • Chorthippus parallelus (Zetterstedt, 1821) ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Pseudochorthippus_parallelus_--_Gemeiner_Grashüpfer.webm" caption="Close-Up of a Pseudochorthippus parallelus"] ::

Pseudochorthippus parallelus (often known by its synonym Chorthippus parallelus), the meadow grasshopper, is a common species of grasshopper in the tribe Gomphocerini. It is found in non-arid grasslands throughout the well vegetated areas of Europe and some adjoining areas of Asia. It is a well-studied organism in the discipline of evolutionary biology and was an early and important model system for the study of European phylogeography.

Distribution

The range of the Meadow Grasshopper extends from the Atlantic coast of Europe, including the British Isles, to the Urals. It is found from Scandinavia in the north to southern Spain and Anatolia in the south. It prefers moist vegetation and in southern regions is typically found in river valleys and at high altitudes (up to approximately 2000 m), but not in arid areas. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Chorthippus_parallelus_8946.jpg" caption="Female showing short wing cases" alt="Female ''Chorthippus parallelus''"] ::

Physical appearance

Females grow to approximately 2 cm and are larger and less active than males, which grow to approximately 1.5 cm. Both sexes are flightless. In females the wing cases (covering vestigial wings) extend only a short way down the abdomen, whereas in males, the wing cases extend almost to the tip of the abdomen. Their colour can vary with green, brownish, purple-red and pink forms having been recorded, although green forms are most common. Colour forms are genetically determined and some populations can show high frequency of pink grasshoppers. Pseudochorthippus parallelus is distinguished from similar species by the approximately parallel nature of the bars (pronotal side-keels){{Cite book | publisher = Collins | isbn = 978-0-00-219852-3 | last = Bellmann | first = Heiko | title = Field Guide to the Grasshoppers and Crickets of Britain and Northern Europe | date = 1988-05-05

Possible utilization for human food

Due to the high density of these insects in Western Europe, some researchers have proposed using them as a source of human food. These insects contain 69% protein by dry weight, with an excellent amino acid profile and digestibility. However, Aman Paul and his co-workers have indicated that, before these insects can be introduced as a food source for humans, a thorough examination must be conduced to identify any potential toxic or allergic conditions that could result from their consumption.

Subspecies

Various races of the meadow grasshopper have been described in different regions{{Cite journal | issn = 0962-1083 | volume = 4 | issue = 1 | pages = 49–60 | last = Cooper | first = S J |author2=K M Ibrahim |author3=G M Hewitt | title = Postglacial expansion and genome subdivision in the European grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus | journal = Molecular Ecology | date = February 1995 | doi = 10.1111/j.1365-294X.1995.tb00191.x | pmid = 7711954 | s2cid = 29472041

  1. P. parallelus erythropus (Faber, 1958) - Iberian Peninsula
  2. P. parallelus parallelus (Zetterstedt, 1821) - nominate subsp., widespread including the British Isles
  3. P. parallelus serbicus Karaman, Z., 1958
  4. P. parallelus tenuis (Brullé, 1832) - Greece

These subspecies are the result of the allopatric separation of P. parallelus populations into separate southern European refugia during the Pleistocene ice ages.

The most widespread subspecies, P.p. parallelus, is found throughout much of Europe but is replaced by P.p. erythropus in Iberia. The Iberian erythropus subspecies is characterized in the field by red hind tibiae and differences in the mating song although other studies demonstrate additional differences in morphological, behavioural, chromosomal and DNA sequence characters.{{Cite journal | issn = 0024-4066 | volume = 58 | issue = 3 | pages = 247–276 | last = Hewitt | first = GM | title = Some genetic consequences of ice ages, and their role in divergence and speciation | journal = Biological Journal of the Linnean Society | date = July 1996 | doi=10.1111/j.1095-8312.1996.tb01434.x | doi-access = | issn = 1010-061X | volume = 12 | issue = 3 | pages = 577–585 | last = Flanagan | first = NS |author2=PL Mason |author3=J Gosalvez |author4=GM Hewitt | title = Chromosomal differentiation through an Alpine hybrid zone in the grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus | journal = Journal of Evolutionary Biology | date = May 1999 | doi = 10.1046/j.1420-9101.1999.00049.x | doi-access = free

Speciation

The subspecies do not appear to be speciating through reinforcement. This is one of the most significant pieces of evidences against speciation by reinforcement.

Gallery

|File:Chorthippus parallelus couple.jpg|Mating |File:Meadow grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus) nymph.jpg|Nymph |File:Acrididae - Chorthippus parallelus (immature).JPG|Immature |File:Chorthippus parallelus mâle 1.jpg|Male, green with brown wings |File:Meadow grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus) nymph Oxford.jpg|Female green form |File:Chorthippus parallelus 1.jpg|Female showing slight pink coloration

References

References

  1. (2016). "''Pseudochorthippus parallelus'' (Europe assessment)".
  2. Zetterstedt JW (1821) ''Orthoptera Sueciae'' 85.
  3. Ragge DR. (1965). "Grasshoppers, Crickets & Cockroaches of the British Isles". F Warne & Co, London.
  4. [http://orthoptera.speciesfile.org/Common/basic/Taxa.aspx?TaxonNameID=1106327 Orthoptera Species File (Version 5.0/5.0 retrieved 28 September 2019)]
  5. [https://fauna-eu.org/cdm_dataportal/taxon/5ef53a4c-f39c-4aea-9d1e-fbed17beb3be Fauna europaea]
  6. [https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/8246902.stm Pink grasshopper found in marshes], BBC, September 9, 2009
  7. Fraser Rowell, C.H.. (October 1971). "Advances in Insect Physiology: v. 8". Academic Press Inc.
  8. (2016). "Nutritional composition and rearing potential of the meadow grasshopper ( Chorthippus parallelus Zetterstedt)". Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology.
  9. [https://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id279/ Biolib]
  10. (1999). "Reinforcement and other consequences of sympatry". [[The Genetics Society]] ([[Nature Portfolio.

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gomphocerinaeorthoptera-of-asiaorthoptera-of-europeinsects-described-in-1821