An Overview of Orthoptera Mass Occurrences in Croatia from 1900 to 2023

TL;DR

This paper compiles historical data on grasshopper and cricket outbreaks in Croatia from 1900 to 2023, revealing that such events are more common than previously thought, especially in the Mediterranean region.

Contribution

The study provides the first comprehensive overview of Orthoptera mass occurrences in Croatia, including new records and highlighting the need for further research on locust threats.

Findings

There were 23 recorded Orthoptera mass occurrences in Croatia from 1900 to 2023, involving 12 species.

Calliptamus italicus had the most mass occurrences with six reports, while Dociostaurus maroccanus and others had fewer.

The 1998 Anacridium aegyptium swarm near Šibenik is documented for the first time in this study.

Abstract

Grasshopper and cricket (Orthoptera) mass occurrences represent an unusually large increase in populations of certain species. Grasshopper species known as locusts are well known to cause severe damage to many crops. The severity of each outbreak depends on the species and on a wide range of ecological factors, including temperature and rainfall regime. In Croatia, a small country in SE Europe, there has never been systematic research on these Orthoptera species, and this phenomenon is regarded as a rare event despite several huge outbreaks being reported in the past. For the first time, all known mass occurrences of grasshoppers, locusts, crickets, bush-crickets, and mole crickets (of the order Orthoptera) from Croatia are summarized. The study represents a historical overview of all Orthoptera mass occurrences known based on the literature but also provides many new records. It seems that Orthoptera mass occurrences are not rare in the country at all, especially in the Mediterranean part. The present situation suggests that thorough research into locusts as agricultural pests in Croatia should be conducted to determine the potential threat to the local economy and with special emphasis on the Adriatic region. The trends of climate change in the Mediterranean imply a rise in locust destructiveness risk in the near future and invites further research.

During the last century, well-known locust species, such as Calliptamus italicus and Dociostaurus maroccanus, have produced outbreaks of varying degrees in the Balkans. The literature data on outbreaks in the region are scarce, and Croatia is not an exception. This study summarized the data on 23 Orthoptera mass occurrences in Croatia from 1900 to 2023 from 28 localities, representing 12 species. This is a low level of outbreak activity compared with other locust and pest grasshopper species in other parts of the world. The species with the most reporting is C. italicus with altogether six mass occurrences, while second is Barbitistes ocskayi and Miramella irena with three records, and in the third, place D. maroccanus and Gryllotalpa sp., each with two mass occurrences having been reported. One of the most notable swarms is that of Anacridium aegyptium which occurred around Šibenik in 1998, and this paper provides the first account of it, 25 years after it took place. The most recent outbreaks took place in 2022, and the most notable one was that of D. maroccanus swarm in Štikovo. The 2022 and 2023 reports were brief and muted, despite the affected agriculturists claiming significant damages.

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