Subject: grasshopper?
Location: Kakata, Liberia, west Africa
May 14, 2016 11:20 pm
This beautiful insect landed on our door and stayed a while. It flies. A science teacher here thought it was a grasshopper, but we’re wondering as it doesn’t seem to have those “hopper” legs. Thanks!
Signature: Lynn
Dear Lynn,
You were correct to doubt the science teacher. This is an Oleander Hawkmoth, a member of a distinctly different insect order than a Grasshopper. The normal range of the Oleander Hawkmoth has increased sigfnificantly with the cultivation of oleander as a flowering garden shrub.
