Elegant Grasshopper: A Bushlocust from South Africa

Yet another gaudy grasshopper
Hi,
How do you like this one ? I spotted it March 22nd 2008 in the Tala reserve near Durban, South Africa on a thistle flower not far from a large pond. I have no idea what the exact species is, but I’m sure its name should contain ‘splendissimus’ 🙂 Regards,
Patrick Lemli

Hi Patrick,
We have correctly identified your Gaudy Grasshopper as the Elegant Grasshopper, Zonocerus elegans, a Bushlocust, based on the content from a marvelous South African Orthoptera website. Once we had a name, we were able to locate other very nice images online.

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