October 2023: Blue-winged grasshopper [Oedipoda caerulescens] (Blauflügelige Ödlandschrecke): I saw this unusual grashopper in the area of the large former Kunkels rockfall. This animal is very well camouflaged and therewith it's even more surprising and astonishing to see its blue wings when it flies away! The grashopper lives in barren land which is - like many other habitats - more and more destroyed and therefore you can find this insects less and less. With the first frosts all the adult animals die and only the eggs overwinter. The survival of the species therewith depends on the eggs of the last generation! The larvae hatch in April and slough 4-5 times until they are adult. Each time they improve their adaptation to the colours of the ground. When you hike in their habitat you mainly see the blue wings when they fly away before the landscape swallows them again!
