Orthoptera is an order of insects that comprises the grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets, including closely related insects, such as the bush crickets or katydids and wētā. The order is subdivided into two suborders: Caelifera – grasshoppers, locusts, and close relatives; and Ensifera – crickets and close relatives.
The Acrididae are the predominant family of grasshoppers, comprising some 10,000 of the 11,000 species of the entire suborder Caelifera. The Acrididae are best known because all locusts are of the Acrididae. The subfamily Oedipodinae is sometimes classified as a distinct family Oedipodidae in the superfamily Acridoidea. Acrididae grasshoppers are characterized by relatively short and stout antennae, and tympana on the side of the first abdominal segment.
Bandwings, or band-winged grasshoppers, are the subfamily Oedipodinae of grasshoppers classified under the family Acrididae. They have a worldwide distribution and were originally elevated to full family status as the Oedipodidae. Many species primarily inhabit xeric weedy fields, and some are considered to be important locusts:
The grasshopper subfamily Acridinae, sometimes called silent slant-faced grasshoppers, belong of the large family Acrididae in the Orthoptera: Caelifera.
The red locust is a large grasshopper species found in sub-Saharan Africa. Its name refers to the colour of its hind wings. It is sometimes called the criquet nomade in French, due to its nomadic movements in the dry season. When it forms swarms, it is described as a locust.
The Caelifera are a suborder of orthopteran insects. They include the grasshoppers and grasshopper-like insects, as well as other superfamilies classified with them: the ground-hoppers (Tetrigoidea) and pygmy mole crickets (Tridactyloidea). The latter should not be confused with the mole crickets (Gryllotalpidae), which belong to the other Orthopteran sub-order Ensifera.
The Senegalese grasshopper is a medium-sized grasshopper species found in the Sahel region of Africa, the Canary Islands, Cape Verde Islands, and West Asia. Although not called a locust in English, this species shows gregarious behaviour and some morphological change on crowding. In many parts of the Sahel, this species may cause greater year-on-year crop damage than better-known locusts, attacking crops such as the pearl millet.
Phymateus aegrotus, sometimes called the blue bush locust or East African bush locust, is a pest species of grasshopper in the family Pyrgomorphidae. Unlike "locusts" the adults are not known to change their morphology on crowding, but at the hopper stage, marching behaviour of small bands may occur.
Anacridium moestum, the camouflaged tree locust, is a species of grasshopper belonging to the family Acrididae, that is native to Africa south of the equator. It is similar in appearance to the Southern African desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria flavicentris. It is likewise brownish, large and slender, but mostly arboreal in its habits.
Pamphagidae is a family of grasshoppers belonging to the superfamily Acridoidea. The species in this family can be found in Africa, Europe and Asia.
Xiphoceriana atrox is a species of grasshoppers belonging to the family Pamphagidae.
Acrididea including the Acridomorpha is an infraorder of insects that describe the grasshoppers and ground-hoppers. It contains a large majority of species in the suborder Caelifera and the taxon Acridomorpha may also be used, which excludes the Tetrigoidea. Both names are derived from older texts, such as Imms, which placed the "short-horned grasshoppers" and locusts at the family level (Acrididae). The study of grasshopper species is called acridology.
Calephorus compressicornis is a species of grasshopper in the tribe Calephorini found in Europe and Africa.
The Cyrtacanthacridinae are a subfamily of Orthoptera: Caelifera in the family Acrididae. They are sometimes referred-to as bird locusts, criquets voyageurs in French-speaking Africa, and Knarrschrecken in German.
Austracris is a genus of Orthoptera: Caeliferan insect in the family Acrididae: subfamily Cyrtacanthacridinae. It includes an Australian pest, the spur-throated locust.
The Hemiacridinae are a subfamily of Acrididae in the Orthoptera: Caelifera. Species can be found in Africa, and Asia.
Hieroglyphus is a genus of grasshoppers in the family Acrididae: subfamily Hemiacridinae and the tribe Hieroglyphini Bolívar, 1912. Species can be found in Africa and Asia.
Kraussaria angulifera is a species of grasshopper in the family Acrididae found in Africa. The grasshopper is commonly found in the Sahelian region of West Africa, where it is known as a common pest of the pearl millet.
Diabolocatantops axillaris is a grasshopper species in the subfamily Catantopinae and tribe Catantopini. It is found in Africa. It is a pest of the pearl millet in the West African Sahel, including in Mali.
Sherifuria haningtoni is a species of short-horned grasshopper in the family Acrididae. It is found in West Africa.
