Santons: People of the grass: Difference between revisions

! Œdémère noble  

|| The males of this green critter have such massive hind femoras that people call it a “maillot vert” (the green jersey is worn by the best sprinter during Tour de France). They are an important pollinator species all across Western Europe.

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! Clyte trifascié  

|| Longhorn beetles are essential pollinators: adults (<i>imagos</i>) often feed on plants’ nectar; while larvaes feed on wood (<i>xylophagous</i>).

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! Empuse commune

|| Contrary to praying mantis, females do not devour the male while reproducing.

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! Gendarme  

|| These bugs are subordinate to lime trees and mallows. Their french name refers to the “gendarme”, a feared paramilitary force which XIXth century uniforms used to display the same colors as those bugs.

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! Bupreste à neuf tâches  

|| Adults feed on pollen while larvaes dig tunnels into pines’ wood.

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! Perce-oreille commun  

|| There are many theories about their name origins: some say that it comes from the appearance of the hindwings, which are unique in their resemblance to human ears, other argue that they really used to be wore as earrings, but their forceps (<i>cerci</i>) are generally only used for courtship.

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! Chrysomèle fastueuse

|| This beautiful little bug is typically playing dead when found on a nettle or other Lamiaceae plants.

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! Criquet bariolé

|| Typical from dry meadows and high mountains, those grasshoppers have become scarce in Eastern Europe.

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! Frelon d'Europe

|| These are useful predator for the European ecosystems, and they are not worse/better than asian hornet, which has been in Europe for so long that it is part of it too.

Only females possess a stinger, it is a modified egg laying device: males cannot sting. Colonies live in paper nests located in dark places, that are made by female workers’ cement: they chew bark and trees mixed with their saliva to build their home (like most social wasps).

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! Grande perle (nymphe)

|| This is a nymph (juvenile form) stonefly, which are believed to be one of the most primitive groups of winged insects. Finding these nymphs, called “naiads”, in water streams is an indicator of excellent water quality.  

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! Pimélie

|| Most darkling beetles (tenebrionids) are cute plant scavengers. Pimelia bipunctata are capable of secreting a smelly red liquid when they feel threaten.

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! Barbitiste languedocien (mâle)

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! Hanneton commun

|| As they multiply, cockchafers can become a farmers’ nightmare, eating plants’ roots unnoticed. Their life cycle is 3 years long, spent mostly buried in the soil.  

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