Acrida cinerea

I am not sure, but I think I have not posted yet in this community - Insects Of The World. So, here it is my post about some incredible creature I found couple of days ago. This is also an entry to The Insects Of The World Contest.

I was in the park chasing leaves for the Season Hunt challenge - Leaves when something small draw my attention. The wind was blowing the leaves from the road and at first I thought that it is either a small stick or some torn part of a leaf, when it hopped. I stepped back and to my surprise I saw this grasshopper. Suprise, because it does not look like any other grasshopper I have ever seen. Well, I have not seen many, but this one is so much different with its slender body and the pointy head. Wierd looking.

When I looked at it more carefully I saw one leg missing.

I can't just make a photo and not to search about this critter. So, let's see what I found.

Trusting Google lens app I found that this is Acrida cinerea, commonly known as Oriental longheaded grasshopper/locust or the Chinese grasshopper. The name suggests this is not native European grasshopper. Made me think how it appeared here and is it possible to be moved together with some goods from Far East? I remember chatting with Hive account@adalger about this, how species can be found in places they don't belong. Nowadays the vast trade between countries and continents follow certain rules, like the wooden pallets must be fumigated or heat treated to avoid to transfer the species like insects, fungi from one place to another. Sadly, there are many who brake the rules and really don't care about the consequences. So, the question is how Chinese grasshoper hopped in Bulgaria? I am still digging and can't find the answer yet. What I found was a map of where it was observed. Asia is its place and it is located mainly in China, Japan, Indonesia, India, but there are observations in Europe in single places, like my country and Italy. Also, it was observed in Turkey and Russia. You can see that the Chinese grasshopper was found in Africa as well.

Map source
https://uk.inaturalist.org/taxa/358062-Acrida-cinerea

Well, I am pretty sure that this grasshopper appeared here by accident.

Now, let me share what I have learned about this amazingly looking creature.
The one I spotted is brownish in colour, while there are also green. The long legs helped to jump high and in this case with one missing, the chances of survival are slim. Lizzards, birds, mice, mantis are among its main predators. Not to forget to mention humans, as in some places it is used for food. There are another two pairs of short legs. Its head is unuasual as well as its thick antennas.

Now, after searching the net I could not find anything in our local news or sites and I am still puzzled about it. Would it be a single case and not to be reproduced in massive scale? It is just a matter of time I guess.

Have you ever seen Chinese grasshopper?

Thank you for viewing.

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