Australian plague locust - Chortoicetes terminifera

- No description given -

comments (4)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

Very interesting species intro, have you ever seen them in a swarm, Ernst? Posted 5 years ago
1. Ernst
  
  Lion
  
  Thank you Ferdy. Yes 30 to 40 years ago it was a common occurrence to drive through a swarm and you had to stop to clean your radiator and wind screen frequently.
  When I still worked at the Melbourne Zoological Garden we would go out in the country in an open Jeep with large nets and just drove along scooping them up . We used to freeze them and had for a while enough hoppers for insectivores . Nowadays it might still happen but due to pesticides it is quiet rare to swarms. Posted 5 years ago
2. 1. Ferdy Christant
    
    Lion
    
    Thanks for the info! Posted 5 years ago

Mark Ridgway

Lion

Yes they can fill your radiator mesh within minutes on a good day... (or is that a bad day?) Posted 5 years ago

The Australian plague locust

The Australian plague locust is a native Australian insect in the family Acrididae, and a significant agricultural pest.

Adult Australian plague locusts range in size from 20 to 45 mm in length, and the colour varies from brown to green. In profile, the head is higher than the thorax, and the thorax has an X-shaped mark. The legs have a reddish shank and the wings are clear other than for a dark spot on the end.

Info 2 0

Similar species: Grasshoppers And Crickets

Species identified by Ernst

By Ernst

Uploaded Sep 13, 2019. Captured in 86 Marionvale Rd, Marionvale VIC 3634, Australia.

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