The spur-throated locust (''Austracris guttulosa'') is a native Australian

locust Locusts (derived from the Vulgar Latin ''locusta'', meaning grasshopper) are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstanc ...

species in the family

Acrididae The AcrididaeMacLeay WS (1821) ''Horae Entomologicae or Essays on the Annulose Animals'' 2 are the predominant family of grasshoppers, comprising some 10,000 of the 11,000 species of the entire suborder Caelifera. The Acrididae are best known bec ...

and a significant

agricultural pest A pest is any animal or plant harmful to humans or human concerns. The term is particularly used for creatures that damage crops, livestock, and forestry or cause a nuisance to people, especially in their homes. Humans have modified the environ ...

. Adult females of ''A. guttulosa'' are typically long, and adult males are typically long. Adults are pale brown with colourless wings and white and dark markings on the thorax. The hind legs are yellow with two rows of white spines. Juvenile spur-throated locusts are green or yellow. The backs of older juveniles may also show a dark or pale stripe. The spur-throated locust has a life span on between ten and 12 months, from autumn to summer. Overpopulation of spur-throated locusts is managed in Australia by the

Australian Plague Locust Commission The Australian Plague Locust Commission (APLC) is a joint venture of the Australian Government and the member states of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland, created in 1974 to manage outbreaks of the Australian plague locust, ...

References

Acrididae Orthoptera of Australia Insects described in 1870 {{acrididae-stub

See also

References