Karlsruhe (dpa / lsw) – 30 out of 70 grasshopper and mantis species in Baden-Württemberg are endangered according to the new red list of the State Institute for the Environment (LUBW). This is roughly the same proportion as in the first classification in 1998, the authority announced on Monday in Karlsruhe. However, there were differences in the details: 17 species were classified more positively than on the Red List of 1998, while 14 species are now more endangered. Eight species are therefore considered to be threatened with extinction.
“For example, heat-loving species such as the native giant slant-headed cricket, which was classified as extinct in 1998, are benefiting from the current climate changes,” said the LUBW. It has spread massively in recent years, now colonizes the entire Rhine track and is no longer considered endangered.
“The losers of the past two decades are demanding species that are specialists for certain habitats,” explained expert Werner Altkofer. The Red-headed Grasshopper, for example, needs short-grained, nutrient-poor grasslands that are exposed to full sun, which were created in particular by migratory shepherds in the Swabian Jura and the Black Forest. If this form of grazing is abandoned, the areas and thus the habitat of this grasshopper grow over.
Targeted protective measures are essential so that the situation does not deteriorate further, Altkofer said according to the announcement. “The continued existence of many very rare species, such as the stone cricket, is dependent on such protective measures that are already in place. However, it takes a long time before these are also reflected in an improvement in the endangerment category.”
