Otago lowland grasshopper Phaulacridium otagoense. PHOTO: STEVE TREWICKLittle Valley Rd near Alexandra may be the last place to find endemic grasshoppers as a hybrid swarm is expected to take over the Otago and common New Zealand species. Little Valley Rd is the exception, Prof Morgan-Richard’s team having found some grasshoppers that look like the Otago and common New Zealand species, but very few of the ‘‘intermediate’’ (hybrid) grasshoppers. In the case of the new hybrid grasshoppers observed recently, researchers believed rapid change in the climate or the landscape had played a role. The common lowland species seemed to be common in many disturbed sites and could cope with wetter soil, the study said.

Source: Otago Daily Times June 29, 2021 16:30 UTC