Colourful Grasshopper
Location: Natal Midlands in South Africa
February 20, 2011 5:58 am
We were travelling in the Natal Midlands of South Africa when I stumbled across this very colourful mean looking grasshopper. He was incidentally only a meter away from a Koppies Foam Grasshopper. Can you identify him?
Signature: Deryck
Toxic Milkweed Grasshopper
Dear Deryck,
We believe your specimen is a Koppie Foam Grasshopper, Dictyophorus spumans, or at least a closely related species of Toxic Milkweed Grasshopper in the same family, Pyrgomorphidae. Many times there is variability between individuals of the same species. The warning coloration or aposematic coloration that is evident in your photo is designed to warn predators that this Toxic Milkweed Grasshopper should not be eaten.
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