Subject: Large brown grasshopper/locust in the Pilbara
Location: Pilbara, Australia
February 8, 2014 7:02 pm
Hi there, I spotted this chap in the car park recently. About 6/8cms in length hand 1-1.5 in width.
Signature: Griffo
Hi Griffo,
We quickly located a visual match on The Northern Myth blog where is it tentatively identified as being in the genus Urnisiella. The individuals identified online as being in the genus Urnisiella do not look like your individual in our mind. See FlickR and Superstock. At this time, we are unable to provide a conclusive identification.
Hi Daniel,
Thanks for your reply. I’ll have a read of the info. I did try to get a side profile photo, but I got spotted and he flew away.
All the best
Ian
I believe that this is a Spur-Throated Locust (Austracris guttulosa), or a very closely related species. Although the colour is lighter when alive (as has been said in the original message), the markings and body shape match the species almost exactly.
The taxonomy is as follows:
Phylum: Arthropoda – Arthropods
Class: Insecta – Insects
Order: Orthoptera – Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids
Suborder: Caelifera – Grasshoppers
Family: Acrididae – Short-Horned Grasshoppers
Tribe: Cyrtacanthacridini – Giant Spur-Throated Grasshoppers
Genus: Austracris
Species: A. guttulosa – Spur-Throated Locust