Taking stock after six years – the first results of an ongoing project to establish new populations of a regionally endangered grasshopper

This data represents the sum of specimens translocated in each occasion
between 2018 and 2024 from natural source populations of the large banded
grasshopper (Arcyptera fusca, Acrididae, Orthoptera) in Bükk and Börzsöny
Mountains, NE Hungary, to altogether 5 recipient sites in the same
mountain ranges, and the estimation of the newly established populations
during a subsequent monitoring year by year in each recipient site. This
study was conducted in a species conservation project in Hungary, where
the main aim was to establish new populations of the regionally endangered
large bandad grasshopper there. A. fusca individuals were translocated to
five mountain meadows from nearby source populations, in some cases with
repeated translocations of smaller numbers (30-50 individuals) between
2018 and 2024. The size of the new populations was estimated yearly by the
transect method. We estimated the population size on each occasion by
multiplying the number of individuals detected in the transects by the
ratio of the total area of habitat to the transect area. By 2024, a new,
growing population will exist in Bükk and another one in Börzsöny Mts.
These are considered successful translocations. At two other sites, the
success is questionable, as there is a small population at each, but it is
not yet possible to determine a trend. At the fifth site, the first
translocation attempt in 2023 was unsuccessful and was repeated in 2024
with a larger number of individuals.