Sphingonotus coerulipes Uvarov, 1922

Popova, Kristina V., Molodtsov, Vladimir V. & Sergeev, Michael G., 2020, Rare grasshoppers (Orthoptera, Acridoidea) of the Baraba and Kulunda steppes (South Siberia), Acta Biologica Sibirica 6, pp. 595-609 : 595

Sphingonotus coerulipes Uvarov, 1922

Blue-legged sand grasshopper Figure 15

General distribution.

From SE Europe and Asia Minor to SE West Siberia and W Mongolia, N Iran.

Local distribution and ecology.

In the first half of the 20th century S. coerulipes was more or less common in the southern part of the Kulunda steppe ( Berezhkov 1956). The species is absent in our collections from the region, but it is relatively common in the semi-deserts of E and C Kazakhstan. It prefers habitats with scarce vegetation in the typical and dry steppes (commonly with some sagebrushes and on sandy soils) and some similar stony habitats in the mountain semi-deserts. Some habitats of this species could be destroyed or damaged during the co-called Virgin Lands campaign in the middle of the 20th century when huge steppe areas have been ploughed and many steppe remains have become overgrazed.

Figures

Figures 10 - 15. 10 - Gomphocerippus rufus. 11 - Aeropedellus variegatus. 12 - Mesasippus arenosus. 13 - Mecostethus parapleurus. 14 - Locusta migratoria. 15 - Sphingonotus coerulipes.