Saddle-backed Bush-cricket vs Desert Locust

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Saddle-backed Bush-cricket Desert Locust
Scientific Name Ephippiger ephippiger Schistocerca gregaria
Order Orthoptera Orthoptera
Family Tettigoniidae Acrididae
Size 22-30mm 45-60 mm
Habitat Heathland Farmland
Diet Omnivores Herbivores
Regions Europe Africa, Asia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Saddle-backed Bush-cricket

A robust bush-cricket named for its saddle-shaped pronotum. It has vestigial wings used only for sound production. Both males and females can stridulate and will duet with each other.

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Did You Know?

Both sexes sing, and females respond to male calls, making them one of the few katydids where both sexes duet.

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.