Foam Grasshopper vs European Velvet Ant

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Foam Grasshopper European Velvet Ant
Scientific Name Dictyophorus spumans Mutilla europaea
Order Orthoptera Hymenoptera
Family Pyrgomorphidae Mutillidae
Size 50-80 mm 10-15 mm
Habitat Heathland Heathland
Diet Herbivores Parasitoids
Regions Southern Africa Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Foam Grasshopper

A large black and red grasshopper that produces a foul-smelling toxic foam when disturbed. It is one of Africa's most recognizable grasshoppers.

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Did You Know?

The toxic foam it produces from its thoracic glands contains cardiac glycosides concentrated from the milkweeds it eats.

European Velvet Ant

A robust wingless wasp with black and orange-red banding and dense velvety hair. Females enter bumblebee nests to lay eggs on their pupae.

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Did You Know?

It is one of the few insects that specifically targets bumblebee nests, sneaking in while the colony is less active.