Details
Schistocerca gregaria
The desert locust is a migratory grasshopper capable of huge outbreaks in arid lands. It feeds by day on vegetation and can travel far in groups when conditions align.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It lives in deserts, grasslands, and savannas across the Afrotropics, the Palearctic, the Indomalayan region. Temporary green growth after rain provides breeding habitat.
Length 4-6 cm; weight 1.5 g-3 g. Adults have a slender body, long hind legs, and well-developed wings. Color and behavior shift between solitary and gregarious phases.
Diurnal, it is usually dispersed but becomes gregarious at high density. Swarms use wind and mass movement to cover broad areas.
A herbivore, it eats grasses, crops, and shrub leaves. Swarms can strip large areas of vegetation quickly.
Females lay eggs in rain-moistened sand. Wingless nymphs move in marching bands and molt into flying adults.
It is listed as Least Concern, though local populations can still be affected by habitat change, collection, or pollution.
