A species of grasshopper that has not been seen in Victoria since the 1960s has been rediscovered at Omeo in East Gippsland.

Key points: The Key's matchstick grasshopper is found in NSW and ACT, but has not been seen in Victoria since 1967

The Key's matchstick grasshopper is found in NSW and ACT, but has not been seen in Victoria since 1967 The grasshopper has been rediscovered in Omeo, in East Gippsland, Victoria

The grasshopper has been rediscovered in Omeo, in East Gippsland, Victoria Work is now being done to preserve the grasshopper's habitat and possibly reintroduce it back into other parts of Victoria

The rediscovery of the Key's matchstick grasshopper was made by Melbourne University's Associate Professor Michael Kearney and Professor Ary Hoffmann.

"The unusual thing about this species is that we're not talking about a threatened species that we can't do much about, " Dr Hoffmann said.

"It's actually a species that's now threatened, but we can certainly resurrect it in many areas, and we can expect to see flow-on effects more generally in biodiversity because we can get these things present at high densities if we start reintroducing them."

The Key's matchstick grasshopper is part of the family of wingless matchstick grasshoppers. There are around 250 species of matchstick grasshoppers in Australia.

Until now, the Key's matchstick grasshopper had not been seen in Victoria since 1967.

Professor Ary Hoffmann and Associate Professor Michael Kearney with their 'pooters' — a device used to catch grasshoppers. ( Supplied: Micheal Kearney )

Unexpected rediscovery

Dr Kearney and Dr Hoffmann visited 25 cemeteries in Victoria, NSW and ACT in search of the rare insect.

Grasshoppers live in grasslands, but according to Dr Kearney and Dr Hoffmann, it was the kind of habitat that had slowly been disappearing across Australia for a number of reasons, including grazing and development.

"So that's the reason this grasshopper is threatened," Dr Kearney said.

Back in the 1950s and 60s, the Key's matchstick grasshopper was commonly found in cemeteries because that was where animal grazing had been prevented.

"It seems that this species is very sensitive to overgrazing," Dr Kearney said.

"Cemeteries were quite an important stronghold for the Key's matchstick grasshopper in the past, but unfortunately these days cemeteries are managed so the grass is kept quite low, and so many of these cemeteries no longer hold the grasshopper.

"The places we searched in Victoria originally, some of the old sites along the Hume Highway, the grasshopper had vanished.

"We had lost hope they were in Victoria."

The Key's matchstick grasshopper is named after the entomologist who discovered them, Ken Key.

"Key left behind some field notebooks that detailed some sites in Omeo where the grasshopper was found that we didn't previously know about," Dr Kearney said.

"It was the last place we went looking, actually.

"Of all the places we could possibly find them in Victoria, this was the last place where we had the chance of seeing them and we weren't very confident.

"It was very surprising and exciting to see them on the side of the road in Omeo."

Zoos Victoria research manager Michael Magrath said the rediscovery was exciting news.

"It is unusual after a period of 50 years for a species to be rediscovered," Dr Magrath said.

"These stories of animals turning up can maintain that these species may still be out there."

The Omeo site where the grasshoppers were rediscovered. ( Supplied: Micheal Kearney )

Key to evolution

The Key's matchstick grasshopper is special because it provided an early insight into evolution.

"It was one of those grasshoppers that could be studied on a chromosomal level," Dr Hoffmann said.

"It has different types of chromosomes and, in the early days of evolutionary biology, people were very interested in asking the question 'Can we show different genetic variants moving through populations as evolution was acting?'

"It's an example of natural selection really affecting the genes in a population, and that was an early challenge for biologists when they first started looking at evolution."

Dr Hoffmann said it felt "pretty good" to find the insect.

"It was something that other people had looked for and not found. All of sudden we stop by the side of the road and there they were!

"We did wonder at one stage whether they existed in Victoria at all."

The importance of insects

Dr Hoffmann said some people questioned the importance of insects and their role in biodiversity.

"This grasshopper was probably one of the most abundant animals in large parts of Victoria," he said.

"Of course it plays a very important ecological role because it provides food for other animals and that goes up the food chain.

"So in a sense these small animals do support biodiversity in a big way."

Representatives from Vic Roads and Zoos Victoria inspecting the site in Omeo where the grasshopper was found. ( Supplied: Micheal Kearney )

Mr Magrath said it was hoped Melbourne Zoo would one day be able to have a display of the Key's matchstick grasshopper.

"We only recently added the Key's matchstick grasshopper to our list of fighting extinction species, which is our list of 27 species for which Zoos Victoria focuses quite a lot of our conservation effort," he said.

"So to hear that it actually was rediscovered in Victoria after more than 50 years was really exciting for us."

Dr Magrath said Zoos Victoria would help organise further survey work to see if the grasshopper was in other places in Victoria.

"To do that we're going to try and engage local schools and communities in areas within the historical range of the species, so hopefully we will be able to find additional populations," he said.

"One of the things we're hoping to do over the next few years is to set up a display at Melbourne Zoo so the public can get a close encounter with this species."

Saving a species

Dr Kearney said the next step in the rediscovery was looking after the sites where the insect was already living.

"Vic Roads are taking steps already to make sure those sites are managed appropriately," he said.

He said he was now thinking about where else they might be living and recreating their habitat.

"They don't need too much, they just need the right kind of food, and to make sure the vegetation isn't grazed all the time," Dr Kearney said.

"They also need a little bit of help to get to these places because they can't fly."

Sara Rhodes-Ward from Vic Roads and Vanessa White observing the Key's matchstick grasshopper in a device called a 'pooter'. ( Supplied: Michael Kearney )

There was also the possibility of reintroducing the grasshopper back to other locations.

"That's exciting because when they are present, there are lots of them. So not only is it good for grasshoppers, but other species that like to eat grasshoppers so there's possibly a lot of benefit in bringing this species back," Dr Kearney said.

Sara Rhodes-Ward is the regional director of Regional Roads Victoria, and part of the team that visited the grasshoppers in Omeo.

"We were able to get a really clear understanding of the kind of environment where the grasshopper is thriving," she said.

"We've been able to identify some other pockets where the grasshopper is, in addition to the main site, and potentially take some immediate action.

"We're issuing instructions to our maintenance crew about how we will treat those sites moving forward, and possibly cordoning off some of those key habitats while we develop a really important environmental management plan for this species."