Locust

Facts

IUCN NOT EVALUATED (NE)

Facts about this animal

Locusts are large grasshoppers that travel in huge swarms over long distances and cause great damage to crops and other plants.

Female locusts produce hundreds of eggs that hatch and grow in four stages: the youngest "hopper" stage without wings; the "jumper" stage when wings begin to develop; the "biter" or "cutter" stage which describes the nearly full-grown locust; and finally the sexually mature stage.

Locusts feed exclusively on plants. A male needs during its development about 30 g of plant material to reach its adult weight of 2 g. A female needs 44 g of food to reach a body weight of 3 g.

Did you know?
that the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations monitors the movements of major locust swarms and publishes current information on their website?

Factsheet
Class	INSECTA
Order	ORTHOPTERA
Suborder	CAELIFERA
Family	ACRIDIDAE
Name (Scientific)	Locusta migratoria
Name (English)	Locust
Name (French)	Criquet ravageur, Criquet migrateur
Name (German)	Wanderheuschrecke
Name (Spanish)	Langosta migradora
Local names	Afrikaans: Sprinkaan isiZulu: Intethe kiSwahili: Nzige msafiri Malagasy: Valala seTswana: Tsiakgope siSwati: In-tsetse
CITES Status	Not listed
CMS Status	Not listed

Photo Copyright by
Vladimír Motyčka

Distribution

Distribution
Range	Locusta migratoria migratoria: Central Asia to South-East Europe Locusta migratoria migratorioides: Africa Locusta migratoria capito: Madagaskar Locusta migratoria manilensis: South-East Asia.
Habitat	Deserts, semi-deserts, grasslands, savannas.
Wild population	No data
Zoo population	No data

In the Zoo

How this animal should be transported

For air transport Container Note 62 of the IATA Live Animals Regulations should be followed.

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