Senegalese Grasshopper vs Malagasy Litterhopper

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Senegalese Grasshopper Malagasy Litterhopper
Scientific Name Oedaleus senegalensis Valalyllum folium
Order Orthoptera Orthoptera
Family Acrididae Tetrigidae
Size 20-30 mm 8-14 mm
Habitat Farmland Forests
Diet Omnivores Herbivores
Regions West Africa, Sahel region Africa
Conservation Least Concern Critically Endangered

Senegalese Grasshopper

A small to medium grasshopper with an X-shaped marking on the pronotum and blue hindwings. It is an important crop pest across the Sahel.

💡

Did You Know?

After good rains in the Sahel, populations can explode so rapidly that they cause significant damage to millet crops within days.

Malagasy Litterhopper

A recently described pygmy grasshopper from Madagascar known only from the Belanono forest. Its flattened body perfectly mimics dead leaves on the forest floor.

💡

Did You Know?

This grasshopper was only described in 2023 and is known from a single forest fragment — it may already be on the brink of extinction before most scientists even learn it exists.