Pink Grasshopper In Salford

A rare pink female meadow grasshopper was photographed in inner-city Salford.

17:32 02 July 2015

The rare pink grasshopper had golden eyes and pink thorax, looking like a lovable character in one of Disney movies. It was photographed by Dr Luk Blazejewski in inner-city Salford. He spotted the grasshopper on a brownfield site near the River Irwell. 

 

Dr Blazejewski said: “It is a small piece of land but it has been abandoned for some time and built up a little eco-system.

 

“I was crawling through the bramble and could hear the grasshoppers next to me. Then a flash of pink went passed me and I mistook it at first for a Burnet or Cinnabar moth."

 

“Then I saw it again and thought ‘wow’ - it is a pretty special sighting.

 

"The meadow grasshopper is common all over the country. They go through a series of moults from May to June transforming from wingless nymphs into winged adults.

 

“They shed their exoskeletons as they grow.

 

"The pink colouring is due to a genetic mutation, called an erythrism. It is unusual and caused by a recessive gene, similar to albino animals. It is due to a reduction of the normal pigment and over production of a red pigment.”