Pretty in pink: Rare grasshopper spotted in local bog!

A local family's trip to the bog to foot some turf resulted a memorable sighting when a rare pink grasshopper caught their eye recently!

James and TJ Elliott, aged 8 and 10, were footing turf with their parents John and Brigit in Waterstown bog, near Glasson, when they noticed the distinctive insect (photographed above by Brigit Elliott).

"We were amazed by the little creature," John told the Westmeath Independent.

"The pink grasshopper does stand out, but you have to be on the lookout as it was very small.

"We later read that, although the species is a common meadow grasshopper, the pink colouring is caused by a rare genetic mutation called erythrism - similar to albinism.

"These extremely rare young 'nymph' pink grasshoppers rarely make it to adulthood, as their bright colouring makes it easy for them to be spotted by predators."

The family, from Killinure, were surprised and delighted to see the grasshopper again the following evening, in roughly the same place it had been the day before.

Sightings of pink grasshoppers appear to be extremely uncommon, with one amateur photographer likening them to finding a needle in a haystack.

Articles have appeared online, in publications such as Newsweek and The Daily Mail, after sightings of these grasshoppers in Texas and in England in recent years.

John said he was now hoping to get in touch with the Irish Wildlife Trust, to pass on the details of his family's encounter with the striking insect in Westmeath.