Saga Pedo - Ecology and Distribution

Ecology and Distribution

Adults are eaten by birds, insectivores, rodents, lizards, frogs, and toads. Nymphs are eaten by spiders, scorpions, centipedes, and preying insects.

Saga species inhabit both dry and wet meadows, pastures, shrubby hillsides, gorges, and as well follow grain fields and vineyards in southern Europe and western Asia from the Iberian peninsula across central Europe and central Asia to China. Like other Saga species, S. pedo is comfortable with adverse weather conditions, and can be found in habitats from sea level to altitudes up to about 1500 m, and occasionally higher. The southernmost known locality is Sicily, while the northernmost is in Kurgan Oblast, Russia, at latitude 54º30' N. Its range is vast, but the population is spread thinly, threatened by insecticide use and habitat destruction. Therefore, the species is considered vulnerable at a global scale.

Saga pedo was reported as an accidental introduction from Europe into Tompkins Township, Jackson County, Michigan (USA) in 1970. In all, only six specimens were found from 1970 to 1972, during August and September. None have been found since by a reliable authority, so they are considered extinct from North America. There have been occasional unconfirmed sightings in subsequent decades, and catching of several specimens in Michigan from 2004 on were reported by a local high school teacher in the New York Biology Teachers Association's publication, however, this remains to be confirmed by a scholarly source.