20. Schistocerca gregaria (Forskål, 1775) = pustinjska šaška

First faunistic record for Croatia: Padewieth 1900

Also reported as: S. peregrina (Olivier, 1804) (Padewieth 1900)

Distribution in Croatia: Doubtful, possibly vagrant. Recorded in the Mediterranean part of the country.

Distribution in Europe: Vagrant species. Swarms have been reported from the southern part of the continent (the Canary Islands and the Iberian Peninsula), sometimes reaching Southwestern England and Southern Ireland. Single individuals have also been reported from other countries (including Croatia), but there is no evidence that the species reproduces in Europe (Hochkirch et al. 2016).

Distributional note: Padewieth (1900) is the only author who reported this species from Croatia (Senj: Nehaj). He reported the species together with A. aegyptium, meaning he was likely able to distinguish the two. Its presence was confirmed after the examination of Langhoffer's old material from Hungarian Natural History Museum in Budapest (Puskás et al. 2018). There are no recent records of the species.

IUCN Red List status: Not Applicable for Europe and EU28 (Hochkirch et al. 2016).