Conservation possibilities of Isophya costata (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Phaneropterinae) based on frequency, population size, and habitats

Isophya costata Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1878, commonly called the Keeled Plump Bush-cricket, is an endemic Natura 2000 species in the Carpathian Basin and is included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened species. We used extensive data collection from Hungary retrieved between 2004 and 2019 from 700 sampling sites spread over an area of 12,700 km2 to examine the occurrence of the species in different regions in grasslands of similar structure but different origin, naturalness, and character. The results confirmed that I. costata currently occurs with the highest number of populations and highest density in regularly mowed, mesophilic hayfields rich in dicotyledonous plants (Arrhenatheretalia). The species also appears in smaller numbers in grasslands adjacent to hayfields, such as wetland meadows (Molinion coeruleae), marsh meadows (Deschampsion caespitosae, Alopecurenion pratensis), and edge habitats dominated by herbaceous plants. However, the results show that the extension of these habitats has a negatively significant correlation with both the occurrence of the species and its density. Isophya costata occurs in steppe meadows much less frequently than in mesophilic hayfields. The species is endemic to the Pannonian Steppe, and the key to their conservation is by maintaining stocks of hayfields in the species’ area of distribution. According to this study, overseeding of mowed grasslands leads to the decline of the species. To preserve I. costata, it is necessary to eliminate trampling in its areas of occurrence (prohibition of grazing) and encourage late-season mowing adapted to the phenology of the species (not as early as mid-July) or, if this is not feasible, mosaic-type treatment leaving unmown patches (e.g., 1/3 of the plot).