In the Voronezh region saved the rarest grasshopper-giant, who was on the track

In the Hopersky Reserve told about an unusual case: an employee of a specially protected area noticed a steppe hive on the road - an insect listed in the Red Book of Russia. The grasshopper sat motionless in the middle of the roadway, risking death under the wheels of transport or under the feet of people. The Savior intervened in time and carried the rare find to safety.

The steppe hip (Saga pedo) is recognized as the largest grasshopper in the country. Its status in the national Red Book is “reducing in numbers.” The species is protected in several reserves, including Hopersky.

According to experts, this insect has a whole set of unusual features. The body of an ovipositor without an ovipositor grows to 53-75 millimeters, and the ovipositor itself, resembling a saber, can be almost three times longer. The color - green or yellowish with side light stripes - makes it almost invisible in the grass.

Unlike most grasshoppers, the hip does not jump after prey. It waits motionlessly for a long time in an ambush, and then attacks butterflies, locusts and other grasshoppers. Another unique feature is the ability to reproduce without the participation of males: the female lays unfertilized eggs, and only new females emerge from them.

The number of these giants continues to decline. The key reason is the disappearance of habitual habitats: grass-grain steppes. The ploughing of territories and the use of insecticides on agricultural fields destroy not only pests, but also rare representatives of wild fauna.