Biodiversity Literature Repository

Submit to community
Liberated Data
Published October 31, 2025 | Version v1
Journal article Open

Expansion or recolonization: Distribution and ecology of the pontic-mediterranean species of genus Acrotylus (Orthoptera) at the northern border of their range

Authors/Creators

  • 1. Institute of Forest Ecology SAS, Zvolen, Slovakia
  • 2. Landscape Protected Area Latorica Administration, Trebišov, Slovakia

Description

Several thermophilous insect species have shown northward expansion in recent decades, and for some, it is only a matter of the recolonization of historic sites. Acrotylus insubricus and A. longipes are pontic-mediterranean species, and their northern edge is in Central Europe (Slovakia). Between 1890 and 1962, these species were known as rare in southern Slovakia, with A. insubricus found at five sites during that period and A. longipes found only once (1961) in southeastern Slovakia. Despite increased sampling efforts in Slovakia after 1997, A. insubricus was not documented between 1962 and 2019, and A. longipes was not found between 1961 and 2023. In 2016, we began regularly checking 53 sandy habitats in southern Slovakia; A. insubricus was found abundant in two sites in 2019 and in nine sites in 2024 and 2025, while A. longipes was found abundant in two sites in 2023 (Aug 21-Nov 3) and in three in 2024 and 2025 (Jun 21–Oct 25), always accompanied by A. insubricus. Recently, the edge of the northernmost range of A. insubricus in Central Europe was 48.53°N, and for A. longipes, it was 48.40°N. In this paper, we describe the distribution, abundance, phenology, and habitat of both species. Regarding habitat, A. longipes needs sandy bare ground with sparse psammophilous vegetation and impacted frequently by human interference, while A. insubricus is more eurytopic and also occurs on rocky steppes. We found only A. insubricus adults overwintering in all nine sites, but never A. longipes, which is different behavior than that of these species in the southern parts of the range. We suggest that A. insubricus and A. longipes have recolonized historical sites and spread into sandy, human-disturbed habitats.

Files

JOR_article_149244.pdf

Files (3.7 MB)

Name Size Download all
md5:3c67285ae18a2f3b382de6311f79587d
3.7 MB Preview Download

System files (151.2 kB)

Name Size Download all
md5:154657859a99015e46353bd893eb9409
151.2 kB Download

Linked records

Additional details

Cites
Publication: 10.3897/travaux.62.e48697 (DOI)
Publication: 10.1093/evlett/qrad004 (DOI)
Publication: 10.1007/978-94 (DOI)
Publication: 10.3390/insects12070639 (DOI)
Publication: 10.14411/eje.2023.035 (DOI)
Publication: 10.3897/jor.28.34102 (DOI)
Publication: 10.11646/zootaxa.4869.2.3 (DOI)
Publication: 10.1016/j.biocon.2019.05.058 (DOI)
Publication: 10.3897/jor.28.30736 (DOI)
Has part
Figure: 10.3897/jor.34.149244.fig3 (DOI)
Figure: 10.3897/jor.34.149244.fig4 (DOI)
Figure: 10.3897/jor.34.149244.fig5 (DOI)
Figure: 10.3897/jor.34.149244.fig1 (DOI)
Figure: 10.3897/jor.34.149244.fig2 (DOI)

References

  • Balla M, Krištín A (2019) Acrotylus insubricus (Orthoptera, Acrididae) rediscovered at the northern edge of its range after 60 years. Travaux du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle "Grigore Antipa" 62: 185–189. https://doi.org/10.3897/travaux.62.e48697
  • Bellmann H, Rutschmann F, Roesti C, Hochkirch A (2019) Der Kosmos Heuschreckenführer. Kosmos Verlag, Stuttgart, 430 pp.
  • Čejchan A (1961) Poznámky k rozšíření druhu Acrotylus insubricus (Scopoli 1786) na Slovensku (Orthoptera, Acrididae). [Notes on the distribution of Acrotylus insubricus (Scopoli 1786) in Slovakia (Orthoptera, Acrididae)]. Čas. Slez. Muz., Vědy přír. 10: 68. [in Czech, English summary]
  • Chyzer K (1897) Zemplénvármegye Orthopterái. Rovartani Lapok 4: 99–101.
  • Dobos Z (2025) Orthoptera fauna of Hungary. http://orthoptera.hu/en/ [Accessed on 05.02.2025]
  • Frivaldszky J (1868) Magyarországi Egyenesröpüek magánrajza (Monographia Orthopterorum Hungariae). In: Gyla G (Ed.) Értekezések a Természet—tudomány osztály Köréböl. XII. Szám. Magyar Tudományos Akadémia, Pest, 1–201.
  • Gulička J (1992) Rovnokrídlovce (Caelifera, Ensifera). In: Škapec L et al. (Ed.) Červená kniha ohrozených a vzácnych druhov rastlín a živočíchov ČSFR 3 Bezstavovce: 70–73. Príroda, Bratislava, 152 pp. [in Slovak]
  • Hällfors MH, Heikkinen RK, Kuussaari M, Lehikoinen A, Luoto M, Pöyry J, Virkkala R, Saastamoinen M, Kujala H (2024) Recent range shifts of moths, butterflies, and birds are driven by the breadth of their climatic niche. Evolution Letters 8: 89–100. https://doi.org/10.1093/evlett/qrad004
  • Harz K (1975) Die Orthopteren Europas II. The Orthoptera of Europe II. Dr. W. Junk B. V., The Hague, 939 pp. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94
  • Hochkirch A, Puskas G, Sirin D, Ivkovic S, Szovényi G, Chobanov DP, Lemonnier-Darcemont M, Skejo J, Rutschmann F, Presa JJ, Krištín A, Willemse LPM, Kleukers R (2016) Acrotylus longipes (Europe assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T15431174A70826598. [Accessed on 02.02.2025]
  • Kaláb O, Pyszko P, Kočárek P (2021) Estimation of the recent expansion rate of Ruspolia nitidula (Orthoptera) on a regional and landscape scale. Insects 12: 639. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12070639
  • Kenyeres Z, Bauer N, Zuna-Kratky T, Magyari M, Skejo J, Krištín A (2023) Recent growth in occurrences of Acrida ungarica (Orthoptera: Acrididae) at the northern margin of the species range: Is it the result of global warming? European Journal of Entomology 120: 338–345. https://doi.org/10.14411/eje.2023.035
  • Kenyeres Z, Takács G, Bauer N (2019) Response of orthopterans to macroclimate changes: A 15-year case study in Central European humid grasslands. Journal of Orthoptera Research 28: 187–193. https://doi.org/10.3897/jor.28.34102
  • Krištín A [Ed.] (2025) Orthoptera of Slovakia. https://orthoptera.sk/ [Accessed 04.02.2025]
  • Krištín A, Balla M (2021) Grasshoppers, crickets (Orthoptera) and mantids (Mantodea) of the Latorica Protected Landscape Area. In: Panigaj et al. (Eds) Invertebrates of the Latorica Protected Landscape Area. State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic, Banská Bystrica: 236–250.
  • Krištín A, Balla M, Fabriciusová V, Hrúz V, Kaňuch P (2011) Orthoptera and Mantodea in fragments of seminatural habitats in lowlands of SE Slovakia and SW Transcarpathian Ukraine. Articulata 26: 109–121.
  • Krištín A, Gavlas V, Balla M, Kaňuch P (2004a) Orthoptera and Mantodea of the East-Slovakian lowland (Východoslovenská nížina). Folia entomologica hungarica 65: 43–54.
  • Krištín A, Kaňuch P, Sárossy M (2004b) Grasshoppers and crickets (Orthoptera) and mantids (Mantodea) of sand dunes in the Danube lowland (S Slovakia). Linzer Biologische Beiträge 36: 273–286.
  • Krištín A, Jarčuška B, Kaňuch P (2020) An annotated checklist of crickets, grasshoppers and their allies (Orthoptera) in Slovakia. Zootaxa 4869: 207–241. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4869.2.3
  • Löffler F, Poniatowski D, Fartmann T (2019) Orthoptera community shifts in response to land-use and climate change – Lessons from a long-term study across different grassland habitats. Biological Conservation 236: 315–323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.05.058
  • Mařan J (1954) Rovnokřídlý hmyz státních reservací v okolí Štúrova na jižním Slovensku. [Die Orthopterenfauna der staatlichen Naturschutzgebiete bei Štúrovo in der Südslowakei (ČSR)]. Ochrana přírody 9: 132–139. [in Czech, German summary]
  • Mařan J (1958) Beitrag zur Kenntnis der geographischen Variabilität von Acrotylus insubricus (Scop.) (Orthoptera - Acrididae). Acta ent. Mus. nat. Pragae 32: 171–179.
  • Nagy B (1958) ökologische und faunistische Angaben zur Kenntniss der Heuschrecken des Karpathenbeckens. Folia entomologica hungarica 11: 217–232. [In Hungarian, German abstract]
  • Nagy B (1959) Das Sicheingraben von Acrotylus longipes und A. insubricus (Orthoptera: Acrididae). Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 5: 370–391.
  • Nagy B (1974) Arealdynamik bei Insekten mit besonderer Rücksicht auf einige mitteleuropäische Saltatorien. Folia Entomologica Hungarica 27: 191–199.
  • Nagy B (2005) Orthoptera fauna of Carpathian basin – recent status of knowledge and revised check-list. Entomofauna carpathica 17: 14–22.
  • Papković D, Jelinčić A (2019) Yellow-winged digging grasshopper, Acrotylus longipes (Acrididae: Oedipodinae), confirmed in Croatia. Journal of Orthoptera Research 28: 1–2. https://doi.org/10.3897/jor.28.30736
  • Rácz I (1986) Orthoptera from the Kiskunság National Park. The Fauna of the Kiskunság National Park. Akadémia Kiádó, Budapest, 93–101.
  • Rácz IA (1998) Biogeographical survey of the Orthoptera Fauna in Central Part of the Carpathian Basin (Hungary): Fauna types and community types. Articulata 13: 53–69.
  • Willemse LPM, Kleukers RMJC, Odé B (2018) The grasshoppers of Greece. EIS Kenniscentrum Insecten and Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, 439 pp.