Stauroderus scalaris
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
Stauroderus scalaris, the large mountain grasshopper, is a species of 'short-horned grasshoppers' belonging to the family Acrididae subfamily Gomphocerinae. Stauroderus includes the following subspecies: Stauroderus scalaris demavendi Popov, G.B., 1951
It is the largest species of grasshopper in Europe. The basic coloration of the body varies from pale or bright green to yellow, with dark-brownish wings and tegmina. Femora of hind legs vary from yellow to reddish. In the males median and ulnar wing cells are quite large, with parallel veins. The adults usually live in colonies and the males emit whirring stridulations to attract females.
These grasshoppers can be encountered from July through September especially in high-altitude alpine meadows and pastures. This species is present in most of Europe, in the Near East, and in the eastern Palearctic realm. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 6 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 7 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Ladder Grasshopper sighting in Mercantour National Park on a given day, based on 110 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 13th most-seen of the 412 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Ladder Grasshopper in Mercantour National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January and March–May, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ladder Grasshopper sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Ladder Grasshopper sightings, Mercantour National Park has the highest daily chance: about 40%. Next come Aigüestortes National Park (Spain, about 30%) and Ecrins National Park (France, about 30%).
Same family: Acrididae
The closest relatives of the Ladder Grasshopper that you can see in Mercantour National Park (family Acrididae, Short-horned Grasshoppers) are Alpes-Maritime Mountain Grasshopper (about 50%), Large Banded Grasshopper (about 50%) and Club-Legged Grasshopper (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ladder Grasshopper is recorded against all the insects logged in Mercantour National Park (110 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
