Desert Locust vs African Twig Girdler

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Desert Locust African Twig Girdler
Scientific Name Schistocerca gregaria Analeptes trifasciata
Order Orthoptera Coleoptera
Family Acrididae Cerambycidae
Size 45-60 mm 20-35 mm
Habitat Farmland Farmland
Diet Herbivores Wood Feeders
Regions Africa, Asia West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Desert Locust

Forms enormous swarms of billions that devastate crops across Africa and Asia. A single swarm can cover 1,200 square km and eat as much food as 35,000 people daily.

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Did You Know?

A large locust swarm can contain 80 million individuals per square kilometer and travel 150 km per day, consuming their own body weight in food daily.

African Twig Girdler

A distinctive African lamiin known for its habit of girdling living tree branches. The female chews a ring around a branch and lays eggs in the portion beyond the girdle, which then dies and falls. Adults have three pale fasciae across the elytra.

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Did You Know?

Girdled branches litter the ground beneath infested trees, and a single female may girdle dozens of branches in her lifetime.