| Green milkweed locust | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Feeding on leaves of Acokanthera oppositifolia | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Orthoptera |
| Suborder: | Caelifera |
| Family: | Pyrgomorphidae |
| Genus: | Phymateus |
| Species: | P. viridipes |
| Binomial name | |
| Phymateus viridipes Stål, 1873 | |
Phymateus viridipes, also known as the Green milkweed locust or African bush grasshopper, is an African locust in the family Pyrgomorphidae (gaudy grasshoppers).
It is about 70 millimetres (2.8 in) long at maturity and capable of long migratory flights. Its body and fore-wings are green in colour while the hind-wings are bright red and blue, presenting a striking appearance in flight.
The pronotum, or dorsal area immediately behind the head, is covered in spines or carbuncles which are often tipped with red.
The nymphs or hoppers are bright yellow and black and highly gregarious, forming large groups during this growth stage and are more or less polyphagous. [1]
As with other Phymateus species it raises and rustles its wings when disturbed and may secrete a noxious fluid from its thoracic joint. [2] This locust feeds on highly toxic plants such as Acokanthera oppositifolia , Cascabela thevetia and Secamone alpinii . They congregate in large numbers on trees and shrubs, arranged in such a way as to resemble foliage.
Insects in the family Tettigoniidae are commonly called katydids, or bush crickets. They have previously been known as "long-horned grasshoppers". More than 6,400 species are known. Part of the suborder Ensifera, the Tettigoniidae are the only extant (living) family in the superfamily Tettigonioidea.
Orthoptera is an order of insects that comprises the grasshoppers, locusts and crickets, including closely related insects such as the katydids and wētā. The order is subdivided into two suborders: Caelifera – grasshoppers, locusts and close relatives; and Ensifera – crickets and close relatives.
The rosy starling is a passerine bird in the starling family, Sturnidae, also known as the rose-coloured starling or rose-coloured pastor. The species was recently placed in its own monotypic genus, Pastor, and split from Sturnus. This split is supported by recent studies, though other related species within its new genus are not yet known for certain.
The rufous-tailed scrub robin is a medium-sized member of the family Muscicapidae. Other common names include the rufous scrub robin, rufous bush chat, rufous bush robin and the rufous warbler. It breeds around the Mediterranean and east to Pakistan. It also breeds south of the Sahara from the Sahel region east to Somalia; these African birds are sometimes considered to be a separate species, the African scrub robin. It is partially migratory, wintering in Africa and India. This is a very rare visitor to northern Europe.
Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is probably the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago.
The desert locust is a species of locust, a periodically swarming, short-horned grasshopper in the family Acrididae. They are found mainly in Africa, through Arabia and West Asia, and extending into parts of South Asia. During population surge years, they may extend into parts of western Spain. The desert locust shows periodic changes in its body form and can change, in response to environmental conditions, over generations, from a solitary, shorter-winged, highly fecund, nonmigratory form to a gregarious, long-winged, and migratory phase in which they may travel long distances into new areas. In some years, they may thus form locust plagues, invading new areas, where they may consume all vegetation including crops, and at other times, they may live unnoticed in small numbers.
The wheel bug is a species of large assassin bug in the family Reduviidae. It is one of the largest terrestrial true bugs in North America, reaching up to 1.5 inches (38 mm) in length in its adult stage. It is sexually dimorphic, in that males are somewhat smaller than the females. A characteristic structure is the wheel-shaped pronotal armor. Wheel bugs prey on caterpillars and beetles, such as Japanese beetles, the cabbage worm, orange dogs, tent caterpillars, and the Mexican bean beetle, all of which they pierce with their beak to inject salivary fluids that dissolve soft tissue. The wheel bug is most active in daylight, but may engage in predatory behaviors at night in areas illuminated by lights. Because most of its prey are pests, the wheel bug is considered beneficial.
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.
Romalea is a genus of grasshoppers native to the south-eastern and south-central United States. It is monotypic with a single species, Romalea microptera, known commonly as the eastern lubber grasshopper, Florida lubber, and Florida lubber grasshopper. It is the most distinctive grasshopper species within the south-eastern United States, and is well known both for its size and its unique coloration. It can reach nearly 3 inches (8 cm) in size.
The wattled starling is a nomadic resident bird in eastern and southern Africa. It is a species of grassland, open woodland, and cultivation.
The white-starred robin is a species of bird in the Old World flycatcher and chat family Muscicapidae. It is also sometimes more simply called the starred robin. It is monotypic within the genus Pogonocichla. There are around twelve subspecies. The species is found in East and southern Africa. It is a forest species, occurring in montane forest in the north of its range but closer to sea level further south. This is a brightly coloured robin with a bright yellow breast and belly, a slate coloured head with spots on the eyes and throat and blueish wings.
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.
LUBILOSA was the name of a research programme that aimed at developing a biological alternative to the chemical control of locusts. This name is an acronym of the French title of the programme: Lutte Biologique contre les Locustes et les Sauteriaux. During its 13-year life, the programme identified an isolate of an entomopathogenic fungus belonging to the genus Metarhizium and virulent to locusts, and went through all the necessary steps to develop the commercial biopesticide product Green Muscle based on its spores.
Dociostaurus maroccanus, commonly known as the Moroccan locust, is a grasshopper in the insect family Acrididae. It is found in northern Africa, southern and eastern Europe and western Asia. It lives a solitary existence but in some years its numbers increase sharply, and it becomes gregarious and congregates to form swarms which can cause devastation in agricultural areas. The species was first described by Carl Peter Thunberg in 1815.
Anacridium aegyptium, the Egyptian grasshopper or Egyptian locust, is a species of insect belonging to the subfamily Cyrtacanthacridinae.
Phymateus is a genus of grasshoppers of the family Pyrgomorphidae.
Aularches miliaris is a monotypic grasshopper species of the genus Aularches, belonging to the family Pyrgomorphidae. The bright warning colours keep away predators and their defense when disturbed includes the ejection of a toxic foam.
Schistocerca americana is a species of grasshopper in the family Acrididae known commonly as the American grasshopper and American bird grasshopper. It is native to North America, where it occurs in the eastern United States, Mexico, and the Bahamas. Occasional, localized outbreaks of this grasshopper occur, and it is often referred to as a locust, though it lacks the true swarming form of its congener, the desert locust.
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.
Phymateus karschi is a locust in the family Pyrgomorphidae.
