Wax Scale vs Foam Grasshopper

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Wax Scale Foam Grasshopper
Scientific Name Ceroplastes destructor Dictyophorus spumans
Order Hemiptera Orthoptera
Family Coccidae Pyrgomorphidae
Size 3-5 mm 50-80 mm
Habitat Heathland Heathland
Diet Sap Feeders Herbivores
Regions Oceania, Africa Southern Africa
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Wax Scale

A scale insect that covers itself with a thick waxy dome for protection.

💡

Did You Know?

Its waxy covering can be nearly a centimeter thick and perfectly dome-shaped.

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.

💡

Did You Know?

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