Vig Károly: Zoological Research in Western Hungary. A history (Szombathely, 2003)
9 6 Phylum Arthropoda 'grasshopper monograph' of GYULA PUNGUR (1891) and 'Orthoptera' chapter of Fauna Regni Hungáriáé (PUNGUR 1900) gave only a few common species for the Kőszeg and Szombathely district. The first important material gathered after the Kőszeg collections of GÉZA HORVÁTH, JÁNOS PÁVEL and ZOLTÁN SZILÁDY was assembled in 1936-7. SÁNDOR PONGRÁCZ was applying several criteria even during the collections, for instance 'research into the altitude and latitude distribution of species, and what I saw before me was the dependence of certain species on ecological formations and that I should research into how certain species occur in company with related species.' During the processing, it became clear that the 'Orthoptera' fauna of the Kőszeg Hills was extremely rich. The count of 66 occurred species showed in itself that the consistency of the fauna was notable (PONGRÁCZ 1940). Some pest species were found in the material, such as the saw-tailed bush cricket (Polysarcus denticauda). Collections in the Kőszeg Hills were resumed almost sixty years later by BARNABÁS NAGY and GERGELY SZÖVÉNYI. Their findings gained further importance because they were able, to some extent, to assess the change in the fauna since PONGRÁCZ'S work. Based on the two collection materials, specimens of 61 species of orthopteroid have been found on the Hungarian side of the Kőszeg Hills. Naturally, some Mediterranean and Ponto-Mediterranean species occurring in the Great Plain or the Central Hungarian Hills are absent. But the Kőszeg Hills and the Őrség form the 15 NAGY, В., I. RÁcz and Z. VARGA 1999. Orth (NE Hungary) referring to zoogeography and natui Aggtelek National Park I, 83-102. Budapest: Magyar only area of Hungary where the Alpine miramelle (Miramella alpina) occurs reliably in substantial populations, which is a clear link to the fauna of the Alps. Among the rare upland species of the Hungarian fauna found there is the grasshopper Omocestus viridulus, which is otherwise confined to the karst district of Aggtelek. 15 Another finding of zoogeographical significance is the relative abundance of Isophya hrevipennis, which is endemic or subendemic to the Carpathian Basin, although its discovery in the West Hungarian border region may raise questions about that status. Only a single pair of /. modestior stysi, likewise endemic to the Carpathian Basin, has been found in the region, at Velem. The habitat presumably holds an isolated population forming the westernmost edge of occurrence (SZÖVÉNYI 1993; SZÖVÉNYI and NAGY 1999). Comparing the records of the two collecting periods shows that the 'Orthoptera' mix in the Kőszeg Hills has changed markedly. A characteristic trend is a retreat by upland species able to tolerate cooler microclimatic conditions and the arrival and spread of species preferring hot, dry conditions. This points to a local climatic shift towards a warmer, drier climate, but another important factor has been erosion and degradation of semi-natural habitats. The saw-tailed bush cricket (Polysarcus denticauda) was recorded even in the 1890s as occurring in very large numbers in the Sopron district (ANON. 1894). By the 1920s, it was appearing in Vas County in May and very abundant in the alfalfa fields (PONGRÁCZ 1940). Huge pteroid insect fauna of the Aggtelek Karst Region conservation. In MAHUNKA, S. ed. The Fauna of the ermészettudományi Múzeum.
