Barbitistes yersini

Bush-cricket Barbitistes yersini

Description

Barbitistes yersini is a bush-cricket species that inhabits shrub-dominated habitats, particularly thermophilic oak forests and dense Mediterranean scrub. It is mainly active from June to August. Both adults and nymphs feed on the leaves of various deciduous trees and shrubs, causing damage to leaf margins and softer parts of the blade. The intensity of infestation is usually low, but in cases of higher population density, more severe defoliation may occur. This can reduce the vitality of host plants and lower the ornamental value of trees, especially along roadsides and in urban areas. The species occurs in coastal regions from northeastern Italy through Croatia to Albania. Barbitistes yersini inhabits oak-hornbeam forests, macchie, forest edges, and bushy areas, mainly in Mediterranean regions. It is also found in coastal zones with scattered shrub vegetation.

Barbitistes yersini is very similar to its close relatives: Barbitistes kaltenbachi, an endemic species limited to Adriatic islands (e.g. Hvar); Barbitistes ocskayi, widespread in southern and central Dalmatia; and Barbitistes serricauda, which is broadly distributed across southern Europe.