Armored Ground Cricket vs Spur-throated Locust

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Armored Ground Cricket Spur-throated Locust
Scientific Name Acanthoplus discoidalis Austracris guttulosa
Order Orthoptera Orthoptera
Family Tettigoniidae Acrididae
Size 40-50mm 50-75 mm
Habitat Deserts & Drylands Farmland
Diet Carrion Feeders Omnivores
Regions Africa Australia, Oceania
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Armored Ground Cricket

A large heavily armored katydid with sharp spines on its thorax and legs. It is flightless and moves in large migratory bands. When threatened, it can squirt hemolymph from its joints.

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Did You Know?

Individuals in marching bands become cannibalistic, and those that stop moving are eaten by those behind them.

Spur-throated Locust

A large Australian locust named for the distinctive spur on its throat. It is a major agricultural pest in northern and eastern Australia, particularly damaging to sorghum and other grain crops.

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Did You Know?

Unlike the plague locust, spur-throated locusts are primarily solitary but can form dense bands when conditions are favourable.