Creek Grasshopper - Bermius odontocercus or Bermius brachycerus
Family Acrididae
This page contains pictures and information about the Creek Grasshoppers that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
- Adult male and female, body length 30mm and 35mm
We easily found them along Bulimba Creek in Yugarapul Park and Wishart in Brisbane. They are usually hiding among the tall grasses or reeds just next to the creek. They are either Bermius odontocercus or Bermius brachycerus, both species look similar and can be found in Brisbane.
- Adult body length 30mm body length 25mm
- Creek Grasshoppers are green in colour with black strips on both sides of the body from eyes to the wing tips. The top of the head and thorax is brown in colour. Both female and male are fully winged.
- Creek grasshoppers have a number of adaptations for their semiaquatic life style. The Grasshoppers feed on blade grass that grow near the water edge. They swim near the surface when jump into the water. They are different from other grasshoppers with their shiny and smooth surface. This feature could be an advantage when swimming in water.
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- They feed on all kinds grasses and sedges, as long as they grow near the water edge.
- In the suitable habitats, i.e., dance grasses at the edge of a creek, many of them can be found in a small area.
- Sun-bathing on leaf on water surface during a warm winter day.
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- Last instars, body length 30mm
- The nymph and adult look the same except adult has fully developed wings.
- Nymph 20mm Nymph 15mm
- In mid-summer, we found the instars and adults sun bathing on tall grasses along the water edge. When we came closer than 2m, they hided on the other side of the grasses. When we moved more closer, about 1m, they quickly jumped and adults flied away.
- Nymph 15mm
- Reference:
- 1. Grasshopper Country - the Abundant Orthopteroid Insects of Australia, D Rentz, UNSW Press, 1996, p179.
- 2. A Guide to Australian Grasshoppers and Locusts - DCF Rentz, RC Lewis, YN Su and MS Upton, 2003, p65, 66.
