Habitat status of the grasshopper, Eusphingonotus japonicus (Saussure), inKanagawa Prefecture, Japan

The habitat status of the grasshopper, Eusphingonotus japonicus, an endange red species in Kanagawa Prefecture, was investigated at one large remaining site in the riverbed of the Nakatsu River in Aikawa-cho, Kanagawa Prefectu re in the autumn of 1996. There were remarkable differences between the spe cies composition of plants and orthopterans at three observation areas in t he riverbed, and E. japonicus was found only in the area where the plant co ver was low; other grasshoppers, Locusta migratoria and Oedaleus infernalis , predominated. It is suggested that the change in vegetation caused by pla nt colonization of the riverbed area may affect the occurrence of E. japoni cus as well as other orthopteran species. The destruction and fragmentation of habitats due to human activity such as riverbank protection work may da mage many populations of E. japonicus in Kanagawa Prefecture.