Italian grasshopper (Calliptamus italicus)

In the mountain environment, where nature skillfully exploits every corner for living, hikers often notice the Italian grasshopper (Calliptamus italicus). This is a robust-bodied grasshopper whose gray-brown protective coloration with dark spots immediately attracts our attention, although on sunny and rocky slopes it usually blends completely with the surroundings. We can most easily distinguish it from other similar species by the characteristic red color on the inner side of the hind legs, which remains hidden until the moment the animal jumps into safe shelter.
Encounters with it are very common in summer heat on dry meadows and stony paths that we so like to visit. Although it is a relatively small creature, with its long jumps and quick evasion it enriches the diversity of life on the ground over which hikers like to walk. In nature, it plays an important role, as it feeds on various plant parts, while at the same time representing an indispensable food source for birds and other predators in the high mountains.
Hikers can understand the Italian grasshopper as a true symbol of warm and sunny areas. Its presence at higher altitudes testifies to the exceptional resilience of insects to demanding conditions that we explore with enthusiasm. When we next step onto the sun-heated rocky paths, every one of its sudden jumps will open a view into a tiny but extremely lively world that pulses right under our soles.