Mormon Cricket vs Red Locust

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Mormon Cricket Red Locust
Scientific Name Anabrus simplex Nomadacris septemfasciata
Order Orthoptera Orthoptera
Family Tettigoniidae Acrididae
Size 30-50 mm 50-70 mm
Habitat Mountains Grasslands
Diet Carrion Feeders Omnivores
Regions North America Southern Africa, Central Africa, East Africa
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Mormon Cricket

A large, flightless shield-backed katydid native to western North America. Despite its name it is not a true cricket but rather a katydid.

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Did You Know?

In 1848 a massive Mormon cricket outbreak threatened settler crops in Utah until flocks of California gulls arrived and devoured them, an event celebrated as the Miracle of the Gulls.

Red Locust

A large brown and red locust that swarms periodically from outbreak areas in Central and Southern Africa. It has distinctive red hindwings visible in flight.

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Did You Know?

The International Red Locust Control Organization was created specifically to monitor and prevent outbreaks of this species.