It was considered extinct in 1936 and in 2007 researchers from the University of Castilla-La Mancha once again detected its presence in lagoons in the La Mancha region, in the provinces of Toledo, Ciudad Real and Cuenca. Now their colony has … multiplied to the surprise and delight of naturalists and entomologists and it is easy to hear its particular rattle at dusk. It is the “silver rattlesnake” cricket (Gryllodinus kerkennensis), which only thrives in saline waters, such as those found in what is known as the Wet Spot.
«It is a species that was forgotten almost a century ago and of which there was no longer any record in 1936 but now it has recovered, it has grown in number and it is relatively easy to enjoy the sound it emits in the lagoons of Quero, Villacañas , Mota del Cuervo, Pedro Muñoz, Alcázar de San Juan or Pozuelo de Calatrava,” explains naturalist Javier García. «This cricket needs hypersaline salt flats, like those in La Mancha. Its population is very fragmented and restricted to this type of habitat and, therefore, any change in these lagoons could wipe out its population,” adds this naturalist. Clearing of the land surrounding these lagoons, the use of pesticides or insecticides in their surroundings or actions that favor a greater presence of birds in these areas could mean their definitive disappearance. Its existence also guarantees the quality and health of the saline wetlands.
Pedro Muñoz Lagoon (Ciudad Real)
Junta de Castilla-La Mancha (JCCM)
like a bell
Hoping that this does not happen, its characteristic sound, similar to the tinkling of a bell – hence its name – can still be enjoyed in the lagoons of La Mancha. It produces it by raising its wings vertically and rubbing them together. Their trill, easily audible and repetitive during twilight and night, is emitted by males grouped in choruses and can be heard near the shores of lagoons where females are also present, although in lower densities.
The “silver rattlesnake” cricket lives in open tunnels under the compact sand of the lagoons and those who do not want to see them in nature can see an interesting collection of this curious species at the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid.
The Bug Cure
According to this museum, this original orthopter was discovered by several entomologists in 1893 in three different countries: Spain, Tunisia and Algeria. One of these entomologists was a Castilian-La Mancha priest, José María de la Fuente, known as “the Priest of Bugs” who maintained close contacts with scientific societies of his time. De la Fuente, a native of Pozuelo de Calatrava (Ciudad Real), was the one who named it “Gryllodes macropterus” and his first scientific communication was the description of this species. Later, it became “Gryllodes kerkennensis” in the scientific community because a French entomologist gave it this name in July 1893, three months before the La Mancha priest reported his discovery, thus complying with the rules dictated by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.
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