Desert Locust vs Green Milkweed Leaf Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Desert Locust Green Milkweed Leaf Beetle
Scientific Name Schistocerca gregaria Labidomera clivicollis
Order Orthoptera Coleoptera
Family Acrididae Chrysomelidae
Size 45-60 mm 8-12 mm
Habitat Farmland Grasslands
Diet Herbivores Herbivores
Regions Africa, Asia North America
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.

💡

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.

Green Milkweed Leaf Beetle

A large, handsome beetle with blue-black elytra marked with orange to cream-colored spots and a blue-black pronotum. It is commonly found on milkweed plants across North America.

💡

Did You Know?

Like monarch butterflies, this beetle sequesters toxic cardiac glycosides from milkweed, and its bold coloration warns predators of its unpalatability.