This pink grasshopper suddenly sat on the front door of Tom from Sint-Michielsgestel, he tells us. A special appearance because you don’t often come across such a colorful specimen. Forest ranger Frans Kapteijns previously called it a ‘very special species’.
“This locust can be seen with many plants and in places where it is flat. You mainly see this pink grasshopper at the end of spring and in the summer,” Frans Kapteijns explained to Omroep Brabant.
Too many red plants
In principle, the pink specimens are often ‘ordinary’ locusts. But they have turned pink due to a skin defect, similar to albinism in humans.
The green pigment is missing or so much pink pigment is produced that the grasshopper is no longer green. But it is sometimes also because they have eaten too many red plants.
Protective color
The bright pink color is not exactly a good camouflage. According to experts, this also explains why these locusts often do not survive that long and they are a rarity.