''Dictyophorus spumans'', the koppie foam grasshopper or , is a species of

grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshopp ...

in the family

Pyrgomorphidae Pyrgomorphidae is a family of grasshoppers in the order Orthoptera; it is the only family in the superfamily Pyrgomorphoidea, with a pan-tropical distribution. Their name is probably derived from ''pyrgos'' (Greek: ''Πύργος'') meaning "tow ...

indigenous to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. The name "foaming grasshopper" derives from the insect's ability to produce a toxic foam from its thoracic glands. It is closely related to ''

Phymateus ''Phymateus'' is a genus of grasshoppers of the family Pyrgomorphidae. Description Species of the genus ''Phymateus'' are African grasshoppers about long. Some species at maturity are capable of long migratory flights. They raise and rustle wi ...

''. It grows up to a length of . The neck shield has a warty surface, and their color is highly variable. It is toxic due to the poisons that it sequesters from its diet, which includes a large number of toxic and distasteful plants such as

milkweed ''Asclepias'' is a genus of herbaceous, perennial, flowering plants known as milkweeds, named for their latex, a milky substance containing cardiac glycosides termed cardenolides, exuded where cells are damaged. Most species are toxic to humans ...

Races

* ''D. s.'' subsp. ''spumans'' – South Africa * ''D. s.'' subsp. ''ater'' – northern South Africa and Zimbabwe * ''D. s.'' subsp. ''pulchra'' – eastern South Africa and Mozambique * ''D. s.'' subsp. ''servillei'' – widespread in Africa * ''D. s.'' subsp. ''calceata'' – widespread in Africa

Gallery

Grasshopper_2017_07_02_0352c.jpg, Dictyophorus_spumans01.jpg, Koppie foam grasshopper (Dictyophorus spumans spumans) 2.jpg, dorsal view Koppie foam grasshopper (Dictyophorus spumans spumans).jpg Sani-Dictyophorus-Spumans.jpg, ventral view Dictyophorus spumans, Skeerpoort, b.jpg,

References

Pyrgomorphidae Orthoptera of Africa Insects described in 1787 {{pyrgomorphidae-stub