Leprous grasshopper

Phymateus leprosus

The leprous grasshopper (Phymateus leprosus) is an African species of toxic milkweed grasshopper that gives out an unpleasant protective foam when disturbed.
locust I am not 100% on the species identification but it is a real big beastie at around 7cm long! Geotagged,Leprous grasshopper,Migratory locust,Phymateus leprosus,South Africa

Appearance

A large grasshopper about 7cm in body length, males (~40mm) are smaller than females (50-60mm). They are brightly coloured, green and pink (male) grasshopper with two large bumps on pronotum.
Nymphs are a bright green and black colour and very well disguised in the grass.
The Green Army! This large group of locust nymphs were heading up my driveway the other day. At first I thought it was a plant growing...until it started moving. They are now busy munching their way through the undergrowth and thankfully leaving my plants alone. Geotagged,Insects,Leprous grasshopper,Phymateus,Phymateus leprosus,Phymateus viridipes,South Africa,Spring,grasshoppers,locusts,orthoptera,south africa

Naming

Synonyms
Gryllus leprosus Fabricius, 1793

Subspecies
Phymateus (Maphyteus) leprosus compressicollis Bolívar, 1904
Phymateus (Maphyteus) leprosus leprosus (Fabricius, 1793)
Locust nymphs I stumbled accross these little fellas near my home, they have been on the same plant for several days now. They group together in large colonies and use the plant for camouflage. However, if you approach them too quickly...they scatter Geotagged,Leprous grasshopper,Phymateus leprosus,South Africa,Spring,grasshoppers,insects,locust,south africa

Behavior

Raises and rustles wings when threatened and produces an evil-smelling foam from the thoracic joints.
Piggy-back! Possibly these are phymateus leprosus but Wiki does not support that. They are however, Milkweed locusts and are toxic. No idea why these two are stuck together, maybe some kind of mating ritual? Geotagged,Leprous grasshopper,Phymateus leprosus,South Africa,grasshoppers,locusts

Habitat

These have been known to be a pest in citrus orchards.
Young Milkweed locust nymphs Found these today en-mass, only about 1cm long so pretty young at this stage. Every time I cast a shadow though, they disappeared quickly into the grass, then re-emerged when they thought it was safe. African bush grasshopper,Fall,Geotagged,Leprous grasshopper,Phymateus leprosus,South Africa

Reproduction

Ten juvenile instars of variable duration (2–8 weeks each) occurr in both sexes, which is the highest known stage number in the Acridoidea. The juvenile development lasts about one year. The adult lifespan is 2–8 months.
Locust nymph These nymphs congregate together in large colonies using a plant as camouflage (see below). They are known to feed on highly toxic plants such as ''Acokanthera oppositifolia'' and ''Secamone alpinii''. I have seen the enormous adults but yet to take a photo Geotagged,Insects,Leprous grasshopper,Phymateus leprosus,South Africa,Spring,grasshopper,locust

Defense

Human fatalities from ingestion are known.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

http://saphotographs.blogspot.com/2013/06/green-milkweed-locust-phymateus-leprosus.html
http://www.zfmk.de/BZB/BzB_56_1_03_Koehler.pdf
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderOrthoptera
FamilyPyrgomorphidae
GenusPhymateus
SpeciesPhymateus leprosus
Photographed in
South Africa