Can you identify this for me?
Hi
Please could you identify this grasshopper for me (JPEG attached). I photographed this in the Kruger, South Africa last November. Thanks
Nigel
Hi Nigel,
This is a Gaudy Grasshopper in the family Pyrgomorphidae. According to a site we found online: “Pyrgomorphids are usually very colourful grasshoppers, the bright colours warning predators that they are poisonous (called aposematic colouration).” They are sometimes called Milkweed Grasshoppers. It will take someone more qualified than we to properly identify the exact species.
This is Dictyophorus spumans, Koppie Foam Grasshopper. Type with warning colors.
see #7 and #8 in the link and note the author! Piotr Naskrecki, the Master of Hoppers.
http://www.animalsandearth.com/photo/view/id/29233-koppie-foam-grasshopper-dictyophorus-spumans-aerates-toxic-blood-as-a-defensive-behavior-south-africa
Thanks for the species identification.
I’m not sure you’ve interpreted those photos correctly. #1 was Piotr Naskrecki but 7 & 8 are not his, they could have been added anytime later I think