FfFfFfFF 58,373 Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 Britain’s largest grasshopper is being bred in captivity by citizen zookeepers and returned to marshes across East Anglia in a move to revive the endangered species. The large marsh grasshopper, an elusive green insect that can appear in a striking pink-and-yellow form, is too isolated in fragments of wetland to hop back to its former strongholds. So volunteers for Citizen Zoo, a social enterprise that promotes rewilding and community engagement, are releasing about 1,000 grasshoppers at two secret sites this summer. The project, which is licensed by Natural England, the government’s conservation agency, has already released 2,152 “hoppers” – mainly adults but a few still at nymph stage – into the countryside. The first wild offspring from the newly released grasshoppers emerged on a nature reserve managed by Norfolk Wildlife Trust last summer. Mark Welch, a retired mineralogist from the Natural History Museum, is currently nurturing 100 grasshopper nymphs, which are kept in a glass tank heated at his home in Cambridgeshire. “It is exciting to be part of putting them back into a place where they’ve been extinct for 50 years and it’s gratifying to feel that you’re making a small contribution.” The grasshoppers will be released at two protected sites in Norfolk later this summer, while more will be released on to two wetland sites in Cambridgeshire next year. As well as wildlife charities, private landowners have approached Citizen Zoo about returning the grasshopper to more locations across its former range in southern England. Source: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/26/grasshopper-bred-in-captivity-returns-to-east-anglia-marshes https://angalmond.blogspot.com/2021/06/a-hop-of-hope.html Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 thank god Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bambi96 1,555 Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 Interestingly I've seen these around that area before anyway! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
FfFfFfFF 58,373 Posted July 5, 2021 Author Share Posted July 5, 2021 On 7/3/2021 at 11:03 PM, bambi96 said: Interestingly I've seen these around that area before anyway! This species is called Large Marsh Grasshoppe, but in the UK there are 11 native specie of other grasshoppers with most common being Chorthippus brunneus. Are you sure it wasn't one of them? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bambi96 1,555 Posted July 5, 2021 Share Posted July 5, 2021 7 hours ago, FfFfFfFF said: This species is called Large Marsh Grasshoppe, but in the UK there are 11 native specie of other grasshoppers with most common being Chorthippus brunneus. Are you sure it wasn't one of them? Positive! I distinctly remember it because it was pink. My friends and I went netting across the fields to find some lil bugs for some frogs (dont' judge lmao) and we caught a few pinks! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
FfFfFfFF 58,373 Posted July 6, 2021 Author Share Posted July 6, 2021 On 7/5/2021 at 8:14 PM, bambi96 said: to find some lil bugs for some frogs (dont' judge lmao) On 7/5/2021 at 8:14 PM, bambi96 said: Positive! I distinctly remember it because it was pink. My friends and I went netting across the fields to find some lil bugs for some frogs (dont' judge lmao) and we caught a few pinks! This is exciting! Is very likely that many of the species thought to have gone extinct still have some specimens left.. just unobserved. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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