Sigaus villosus

Sigaus villosus is New Zealand's largest grasshopper. It is only found in the central mountains of the South Island. The genus Sigaus is endemic to the New Zealand. Like all of New Zealand sub-alpine and alpine grasshoppers S. villosus has a 2 or 3 years life cycle. The eggs must ‘overwinter’ before they will hatch. Hoppers are found throughout the year and adult grasshoppers can be found throughout the New Zealand summer between December and April. Adult S. villosus do not overwinter.

Black Eye grasshopper
A female Sigaus villosus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Orthoptera
Family:
Acrididae
Genus:
Sigaus

Hutton, 1898[1]
Species:
S. villosus
Binomial name
Sigaus villosus
(Salmon, 1950)
The distribution of S. villosus in New Zealand

Distribution and habitat
A overview of the S. villosus habitat.
Lagoon Peak 43°22′29″S 171°14′16″E

Sigaus villosus is known from the central mountains of the South Island, with the largest population on the Craigieburn Range. It can be found as far south as the Fox Peak (43°50′20″S 170°47′02″E) and as far north as the Mount Wilson (42°57′32″S 171°40′32″E). The black eye grasshopper is a truly high alpine species, as it prefer open bare rocky screes between 1,900–2,100 metres (6,200–6,900 ft) in altitude, however, it can be found down as low as 1,320 metres (4,330 ft) at the Porters Ski Area at the bottom of long open screes (43°16′23″S 171°38′32″E). Adult grasshoppers are found during the New Zealand summer between October and March.

Species description

The wings on S. villosus are micropterous (small wings) between 2–4 millimetres (0.079–0.157 in) making this species flightless like most of New Zealand grasshoppers.

Polymorphism

Only one colour morph are known for adults S. villosus, 'Grey'. All specimens are light grey with black coloured eyes.

Type information
Holotype of Sigaus villosus

References
  1. Hutton, F.W. 1898: Notes on the New Zealand. Proc. Trans. NZ Inst. 31: 44-50
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