Podisma pedestris (Linnaeus, 1758)

Nutrition:
Grasses and herbs,sometimes also dead insects.

Habitat:
Podisma pedestris inhabits nutrient-poor grassland slopes in medium and high mountain ranges, which are usually interspersed with rocks. It is also found in dwarf shrub heaths (Juniperus, Vaccinium) and in not too densely vegetated woodland clearings. They live on both calcareous and acidic soils.

Life cycle:
The eggs overwinter. Adults occur from late June until well into October. I found many dead but some living adults even on 28/10/2006 in approximately 2300m asl in the Valais. The insects tend to hide under rocks in cold periods.

Endangerment: strongly endangered

Endangerment factors:
Podisma pedestris is one of the most common species in the central and southern Alps, but scarce in the northern part.
The total distribution extends from northern Spain (Pyrenees) across the Alps to the Balkans and further from Scandinavia and eastern Europe to eastern Asia (Altai). In the southwestern Alps and the Apennines several other, similar species are found.