Scientists have reported the rarest discovery of a pink grasshopper in New Zealand.
In New Zealand, rangers from the Department of Nature Conservation have discovered an ultra—rare pink grasshopper, a mutant form of a large lowland species. An unusual insect was spotted in the Te Manahuna region on the South Island. This was reported on November 21 on the website of the BBC television channel.
DOC employee Jen Shorey said that the team noticed the atypical color of a large grasshopper and immediately realized that they were facing a "celebrity." She noted that the opportunity to see such an insect is a rare professional stroke of luck and a reminder of the fragility of the local nature.
Unlike the species common in the UK with a length of about 2 cm, the found specimen belongs to the females of the robust grasshopper, the largest lowland grasshopper in New Zealand, reaching about four cm. The species is included in the endangered category, which makes an individual with an unusual color even more rare.
Experts explain the unusual color by the erythrism mutation, a pigmentation disorder in which the body produces an excessive amount of red pigment with a decrease in the content of ordinary ones.
According to Shori, this color increases the vulnerability of the insect in nature, as it makes it visible to predators. However, the DOC hopes that similar specimens will still be found: female robust grasshoppers are twice as large as males, and their high endurance may contribute to the preservation of a rare variation.
On November 6, Popular Science magazine reported the discovery of a rare Roman funerary monument in the Eichstatt area in southern Germany. It is a round stone structure with a diameter of about 12 m, which is the base of a tumulus, a burial mound. According to the publication, the building dates back to the 1st century AD.
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