Nature never ceases to amaze with its unnoticed shapes and colors that surpass anything we could have imagined. For example, the incredible and rare shades of this pink grasshopper, which is a peculiarity within its species.
The user Deri Saputa, through his account dedicated to the observation of insects, managed to capture this fascinating bug that is very rarely observed. The feat of finding this rare specimen was captured on video, something extremely rare because there is only a 1 in 500 chance of finding a pink grasshopper.
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There are more than 6,400 different species of grasshoppers on the planet, all of which have special characteristics that distinguish them from each other. There may be two distinct reasons that could explain the hue of this curious pink grasshopper.
The science behind the rare pink color
You may be surprised by the pigments of this grasshopper, but pink is not the only strange color that appears on these friendly insects. There are also vibrant yellow, red, and orange crickets and grasshoppers.
They acquire these shades thanks to a condition known as erythrism, a genetic mutation that occurs when recessive genes cause the absence of normal green pigment.
As a result, they have other abnormal pigments such as red. The result of this curious condition is strangely colored insects. Erythrism happens due to a genetic condition studied by entomological specialists.
“Apparently, it is similar to the situation in albino animals where the condition is due to recessive genes,” explains insect biologist Tom Turpin of Purdue University.
New species of pink grasshoppers
On the other hand, a 1993 expedition of specialists found two possible new varieties of grasshoppers in Malaysia. These insects had the unusual characteristic that all females of the species were pink or red.
Although both males and females look like leaves, with distinctive veins and small elongated legs, the males of this new species were of a uniform green color. These curious insects provoke amazement through infinite images and shapes.
Text courtesy of Ecoosfera
