author(s)
Sara Imène Betina, Abboud Harrat and Daniel Petit

abstract
The present study was conducted to investigate the diversity of grasshoppers in three sites of Aures mountains between 800 and 1200 m A.S.L through monthly samplings from March 2012 to February 2014. The present study recorded 21 species of grasshopper belonging to Pamphagidae, Pyrgomorphidae and Acrididae, and 60 plant species which were interpreted using the phytosociological system. At a local scale, flora variation explains the highest grasshopper diversity in Djerma, but not the differences observed between Hamla and Lazrou. At a regional scale, climatic constraints expressed by the shortage of growing season at higher altitudes explains the lowest grasshopper diversity at Hamla, through a counter-selection of taxa showing non-adapted life cycles. The mid-domain effect explains more than 50% of the variations in grasshopper diversities, through direct and indirect actions on grasshoppers. The local and regional scales contribute in an intricate manner, as well as mid-domain effect, to the diversity of grasshoppers.