#calliptamus

a very pretty orange Calliptamus barbarus morph. i seem to have a harder time chasing these grasshoppers around the more i like a specific individual's morph, but thankfully this one trusted its gorse security system enough to not jump away

@philoursmars submitted: Dans les calanques de Marseille, j'ai vu ce beau criquet (Calliptamus barbarus??? Je n'en suis pas du tout sûr. Help me, please !)

Philoursmars

the highly variable Calliptamus barbarus is seen here proving that variation doesn't always mean a flamboyant appearance, because while the species does have very some strikingly beautiful morphs, this almost uniformly clay colored one just looks like a really elaborate sculpture of a grasshopper that someone hasn't painted yet. or a mummified specimen. they've probably got these in the paris catacombs

a stereotypical photo of summer to me isn't a sunny beach but this: a very orange grasshopper nymph (Calliptamus) in a beige background of dry grass. if your summers have any colors other than these, consider yourself lucky

Calliptamus barbarus loves to be orange, and this nymph - a morph even more orange than the fancy high-contrast adult i posted the other day - is a perfect example of it. i think my favorite feature of this one are the markings behind the eyes that look like big cartoon eyelashes

my favorite Calliptamus barbarus morph is this monochrome oreo one, which unfortunately means it's also the one that stands still the least. i'm very grateful to this individual for being oblivious enough to allow me to get a decent look at it before remembering its entire purpose in life is to jump into a dense spiky bush and disappear forever

there's nothing barbaric about Calliptamus barbarus, with its preferred emotion being abject fear rather than rage. this subadult and many others start showing themselves in early spring and the adults keep me company until late autumn, meaning i spend a good portion of the year failing to photograph all my favorite morphs of this highly variable species