''Zonocerus variegatus'', the painted grasshopper or variegated grasshopper, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

belonging to 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 ...

. It is native to tropical Africa, and is considered a crop pest in much of Western and Central Africa.

Description

The adult grasshopper is extremely colourful, having large red compound eyes, a boldly patterned black, white, red and yellow body and legs, and greenish membranous wings. The

nymphs A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are typ ...

also have red eyes, but lack wings and are black, with yellow and white markings.

Distribution and habitat

''Zonocerus variegatus'' is native to tropical West and Central Africa. It is an important agricultural pest in Ghana, Togo, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Congo Brazzaville, Southern Benin, and the

Sahel The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid c ...

region. It is a

polyphagous Feeding is the process by which organisms, typically animals, obtain food. Terminology often uses either the suffixes -vore, -vory, or -vorous from Latin ''vorare'', meaning "to devour", or -phage, -phagy, or -phagous from Greek φαγε ...

insect, feeding on numerous different plants.

Ecology

Both nymphs and mature ''Zonocerus variegatus'' cause damage to crops, particularly

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...

, groundnuts and vegetables, and it has been implicated in transmitting mosaic viruses of

cowpea The cowpea (''Vigna unguiculata'') is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus ''Vigna''. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few input ...

and

okra Okra or Okro (, ), ''Abelmoschus esculentus'', known in many English-speaking countries as ladies' fingers or ochro, is a flowering plant in the mallow family. It has edible green seed pods. The geographical origin of okra is disputed, with su ...

. The worst crop damage occurs in humid areas, on the edges of forests and near recently cleared, fallow ground with

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

plants. When forests are cleared, the plant ''

Chromolaena odorata ''Chromolaena odorata'' is a tropical and subtropical species of flowering shrub in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the Americas, from Florida and Texas in the United States south through Mexico and the Caribbean to South America. It ...

'' often invades the cleared area; it is a favoured food plant of ''Zonocerus variegatus'', the populations of which swell as a result and spread to nearby cultivated areas. Perennial crops are less affected than annuals.

Uses

There is a long tradition in Africa and Asia of eating insects, and these provide a high quality source of animal protein, nutritionally superior to beef and chicken. Grasshoppers are the most widely eaten insect and ''Zonocerus variegatus'' is a common species that has been eaten traditionally for centuries. In the dry season in northern Nigeria, the grasshoppers are gathered from grasses and bushes before dawn, when the insects are quiescent. They are then de-winged, salted and fried. The insects contain about 10%

chitin Chitin ( C8 H13 O5 N)n ( ) is a long-chain polymer of ''N''-acetylglucosamine, an amide derivative of glucose. Chitin is probably the second most abundant polysaccharide in nature (behind only cellulose); an estimated 1 billion tons of chit ...

, the derivatives of which are of interest in medical research, in industry and agriculture, for the manufacture of biodegradable plastics, in wound repair, as a crop booster, and as a

nematicide A nematicide is a type of chemical pesticide used to kill plant-parasitic nematodes. Nematicides have tended to be broad-spectrum toxicants possessing high volatility or other properties promoting migration through the soil. Aldicarb (Temik), a car ...

and

fungicide Fungicides are biocidal chemical compounds or biological organisms used to kill parasitic fungi or their spores. A fungistatic inhibits their growth. Fungi can cause serious damage in agriculture, resulting in critical losses of yield, quality, ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10724763 Pyrgomorphidae Orthoptera of Africa Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Insects described in 1758 Agricultural pest insects Edible insects