''Anacridium aegyptium'', the Egyptian grasshopper or Egyptian locust, is a species of insect belonging to the subfamily

Cyrtacanthacridinae The Cyrtacanthacridinae are a subfamily of Orthoptera: Caelifera in the family Acrididae. They are sometimes referred-to as bird locusts, ''criquets voyageurs'' in French-speaking Africa, and ''Knarrschrecken'' in German. It includes specie ...

Subspecies

* ''Anacridium aegyptium'' var. ''rubrispinum'' Bei-Bienko, 1948 - ''Anacridium rubrispinum'' Bei-Bienko, 1948

Distribution

This quite common species is present in most of Europe, the Afrotropical realm, eastern

Palearctic realm The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sib ...

, the Near East, and

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

, and recently seen in Cape Town, South Africa.

Habitat

These grasshoppers inhabit trees and shrubs, scrub land, maquis, and orchards in warm and bright environments, at an elevation from sea level to 1,500 m.Linnea
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Description

''Anacridium aegyptium'' is one of the largest European grasshoppers. The adult males grow up to long, while females reach in length. Their bodies are usually gray, brown, or olive-coloured, and their antennae are relatively short and robust. The tibiae of the hind legs are blue, while the femora are orange. The hind femora have characteristic dark marks. They are easily identifiable also by the characteristic eyes with vertical black and white stripes. Their pronota show a dorsal orange stripe and several white small spots. The wings are clear with dark marks.
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Biology

This species is a

folivore In zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less energy than other types of foods, and often toxic compounds.Jones, S., Martin, R., & Pilbeam, D. (1 ...

, essentially feeding on leaves of various plants. It is a solitary species, not harmful to crops. Adults can mainly be encountered in August and September, but they are active throughout the year. After mating, these grasshoppers overwinter as adults. Spawning occurs in spring just under the soil surface and the nymphs appear in April. These grasshoppers undergo several molts. The nymphs have the appearance of the adults, their color varies from yellow to bright green and ocher and the wings are absent or small, as they are gradually developed after each molting.

Gallery

File:Egyptian Locusts (Anacridium aegyptium) mating (20793956288).jpg, Mating pair File:Acrididae - Anacridium aegyptium-1.jpg, Nymph showing typical juvenile wings File:Anacridium aegyptium, Langosta egipcia; 10 cm.jpg, female adult, 10 cm. (El Escorial, Spain) File:Anacridium aegyptium - 01.jpg, Adult eyes close-up File:.Male. Anacridium aegyptium - Flickr - gailhampshire.jpg, Adult detail of pronotum File:Egyptian locust (Anacridium aegyptium) feeding.webm, Clip of ''A. aegyptium'' feeding on the leaves

References

*Linnaeus, 1764 : Museum S.R.M. Ludovicae Ulricae reginae Svecorum, Gothorum, Vandalorum,… In quo animalia raroria, exotica, imprimis Insecta et Conchilia describuntur et determinantur Prodromi instar editum.

External links

Orthoptera.speciesfile.org

{{Taxonbar, from=Q253982 Acrididae Grasshoppers described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Articles containing video clips Orthoptera of Europe