Hatching is underway!
The Conservatoire d’espaces naturels Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, the Parc Animalier de la Barben, and the Citadelle de Besançon are pleased to announce the birth of Primo, a beautiful baby Crau Plain Grasshopper measuring ...
An important phase in the breeding of Crau Plain Grasshopper has begun: the transfer of eggpods into the Crau soil “in situ”.
After having been reared to maturity in terrariums at the ex situ breeding sites – the zoological garden La Barben and the breeding station in Corrèze – our new generation of grasshoppers has mated. The females have laid numerous eggpods which must now be transferred to the Crau soil.
This return to the natural environment is necessary to allow the eggs to develop in natural conditions. This increases the probability of the eggs hatching the following spring. The eggpods are placed in the soil, at a depth equivalent to that of where the female lays. They are placed in aviaries in well-defined and labelled locations, and their evolution will be closely monitored throughout the period between July and April (predation, vegetation growth, damaged soil…).
The first transfer of eggpods took place on 7 June from the zoological garden La Barben. So far, 66 eggpods have been brought back to the Crau, and this is just the beginning. These transfers will continue until July, as the captured grasshoppers reproduce and lay eggs. We will soon receive more.
What is an eggpod?
It is the agglomeration of about 16-18 eggs laid simultaneously, protected by a kind of moss produced by the female during the laying of eggs and which hardens with the soil around it to form a small “pot”.
The Conservatoire d’espaces naturels Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, the Parc Animalier de la Barben, and the Citadelle de Besançon are pleased to announce the birth of Primo, a beautiful baby Crau Plain Grasshopper measuring ...
Become a partner of the LIFE SOS Crau grasshopper Festival to be held on 13 October at the Domaine départemental des Aulnes!
Launched in 2021, the LIFE SOS Crau Plain Grasshopper project has reached the half-way stage at the start of 2024. On 27 and 28 February, the LIFE project team was visited by Gustavo Becerra Jurado from CINEA (the European executive agency ...
As part of the Life Crau grasshopper educational project, the Conservatoire d’espaces naturels Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and the Parc animalier de La Barben are offering teachers two days of free activities aimed at ...