Diving Grasshopper - Bermiella acuta
Family Acrididae
This page contains pictures and information about the Diving Grasshoppers that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia. They are also known as Eastern Toothed Bermius.
- Body length 40mm
- This is a large grasshopper. From reference information, this grasshopper can remain underwater for more than ten minutes.
- This grasshopper is not common in Brisbane. We saw this grasshopper only once on July 2005 in Karawatha Forest near the Lagoon.
- The grasshopper can be recognized by the hind femora with the dorsal angles spiniform and antenna are not banded.
- The grasshopper has 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.
- Reference:
- 1. Grasshopper Country - the Abundant Orthopteroid Insects of Australia, D Rentz, UNSW Press, 1996, p179, plate 255.
- 2. A Guide to Australian Grasshoppers and Locusts - DCF Rentz, RC Lewis, YN Su and MS Upton, 2003, p65, 66.
