Spur-throated Locust - Austracris proxima
Family Acrididae
This page contains pictures and information about the Spur-throated Locust that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
- Body length 60mm
This is a large grasshopper. It is greyish-brown in colour. Its hind legs are pinkish brown. Both male and female are fully winged.
- The above photos were taken near a lagoon in Karawatha forest during late summer. The grasshopper tried to hide behind the sedges. It jumped and flied away when we came closer.
- Photo: Keith Power, Toowoomba
- This is one of the pest locust, forms swarms and can reach plague status in Australia. They attack various crops like sorghum, sunflower or soybean.
- This grasshopper undergoes eight instars stages.
- Reference:
- 1. Grasshopper Country - the Abundant Orthopteroid Insects of Australia, D Rentz, UNSW Press, 1996, p192.
- 2. A Guide to Australian Grasshoppers and Locusts - DCF Rentz, RC Lewis, YN Su and MS Upton, 2003, p337.
