Here are some of the (what I think) identified grasshoppers (califera – Kurzfühlerschrecken)
Pezotettix giornae – Kleine or Rossis Knarrschrecke:
Pseudochorthippus parallelus – Gemeiner Grashüpfer:
Egyptian Locust – Anacridium aegyptium – Ägyptische Wanderheuschrecke:
Sort of pygmy locust – Tetrix Kraussi – Kurzflügel-Dornschrecke:
Long-horned Groundhopper – Tetrix tenuicornis – Langfühler Dornschrecke
update: Thanks again to the expert Florin at orthoptera.ch for the id help! These are not only immature ones.
Another post with unidentified (probably immature) grasshoppers. Every help welcome!
Photos taken end of August/beginning of September in the Ticino (southern part of Switzerland).
Grown up female Pezotettix giornae – Ausgewachsene weibliche Kleine Knarrschrecke:
different individual but same kind:
The structure of the adult wing is good to see:
Chorthippus sp. last nymphe phase:
as well:
update: thanks to the expert Florin from orthoptera.ch he helped me with the identification where possible.
(I made this post for the experts from orthoptera.ch to help me identify the grasshoppers I photographed. That’s why the text is in German.)
Danke für die Hilfe! Alle Fotos wurden Ende August/Anfang September im Tessin gemacht.
Zum Vergrössern drauf klicken.
deutlich einwärts gebogene Halsschild-Seitenkiele ohne weisses Flügelfeld:
Chorthippus sp. – female:
Chorthippus sp. (if male Chorthippus mollis ignifer – Verkannter Grashüpfer or Chorthippus brunneus – Brauner Grashüpfer):
Male Common field grasshopper (Chorthippus brunneus – Brauner Grashüpfer, Männchen):
slender long wings and coloring are typical. Schmale lange Flügel sowie die Färbung sind typisch:
Most probably a female Common field grasshopper:
Most probably a Woodland Grasshopper (Omocestus rufipes - Buntbäuchiger Grashüpfer).
Chorthippus sp. (maybe a female from the Chorthippus biguttuls group)
Very difficult to identify without seeing the wings.
Also a female from the Chorthippus biguttulus group:
Two unsure Chorthippus brunneus grasshoppers:
female Mecostethus parapleurus – Weibliche Lauchschrecke:
Chorthippus sp. female (maybe Chorthippus mollis ignifer – evtl. Verkannter Grashüpfer):
Maybe male and female Common fiele grasshopper (evtl. Männchen und Weibchen des Braunen Grashüpfers):
I have done more macro photography lately and so I’ll post some insects photos over the next time. Please click on the photos to enlarge. All photos taken in the southern part of Switzerland.
Starting with “long antenna Grasshoppers” or better the ensifera (bush crickets and katydids – Langfühlerschrecken in German). Please feel free to correct me on wrong identifications!
Great Green Bush Cricket – Grosses Heupferd – Tettigonia viridissima:
“Conehead bush cricket” – Grosse Schiefkopfschrecke – Ruspolia nitidula
Katydids / Phaneroptera falcata – Gemeine Sichelschrecke
Adult:
Nymph of Phaneroptera (either falcata or nana):
I really like the look of this one:
Phaneroptera nana – Vierpunktige Sichelschrecke
Gryllomorpha dalmatina – Stumme Grille
Also a Gryllomorpha dalmatina (Stumme Grille) found at night in the bath room:
Thanks for extra info Florian at http://www.forum.orthoptera.ch/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=431#p1285
Again – the Mute Swan normally is just “the swan” and actually the only Swan we have. As winter guests on Lake Constance we do have other all-white Tundra- and Whooper Swans with partially yellow beaks.
The Mute Swan has a beautiful orange beak in nice contrast with the all white appearance.
When I was still little I always thought that the nose hole is the eye. And my mother told us the story that the swans are married if they are wearing a ring. Today she says that she never would have said something like this and maybe I heard the story somewhere else or I invented it myself.
In German the Mute Swan (cygnus olor) is called Swan with knuckle (Höckerschwan). It isn’t really mute – it can grunt and its wings creak when flying. So the mute is probably to show the difference to the Whooper Swan (called Singing Swan in German) – but I have never heard one of these and so I can’t say anything about it.
And by the way: can you see an “ugly duckling” here?
More information: http://vogelwarte.ch/mute-swan.html
Portrait in German
One of the most abundant ducks on Swiss lakes is probably the Mallard, that’s why most people just call it “the duck”.
Male and female are pretty easy to distinguish. A small problem is, that there are some other female ducks looking very alike, e.g. the Gadwall, who doesn’t have the blue part on the wing* or the Eurasian Teal who is much smaller. The male Mallard is unique in his colorful breeding plumage.
Mallards start courting in fall. Here are two older blog posts about males fighting and the courtship behavior. When they have found each other they stay together until spring.
Only the females look after their little ones in spring and summer.
The shiny drake gets very dull in summer while molting and looks almost like the female. As a child I always thought that they are gone, spending summer somewhere “on holiday”. But they stay – distinguishable from the females almost only by their yellow beak.
*no blue wing feathers visible on the first photo
More information: http://vogelwarte.ch/mallard.html
Portrait in German
Besides the “normal pigeon” the two more unknown but still abundant pigeons in Switzerland are the Eurasian Collared Dove and the Common Wood Pigeon.
The slender Collared Dove is beige-grey and its name giving black collar is a good field mark. The German name “Turkish Dove” shows that it came from the orient but is spreading more and more, for example in cities:
The bigger Wood Pigeon is mostly seen on fields or in woods. It is definitely bigger than the other pigeons and it has a white dot on the side of the neck. While flying it shows a white band on every wing.
Even I can distinguish the two pigeons by sound:
Collared Dova three parts: du-Duu do
Wood Pigeon five parts: DUH-duu, doo-doo … du
More information: http://www.vogelwarte.ch/eurasian-collared-dove.html, http://www.vogelwarte.ch/common-wood-pigeon.html
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