White-legged Damselfly vs Armoured Ground Cricket

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute White-legged Damselfly Armoured Ground Cricket
Scientific Name Platycnemis pennipes Acanthoplus longipes
Order Odonata Orthoptera
Family Platycnemididae Tettigoniidae
Size 32-37 mm body length 45-60 mm
Habitat Rivers & Streams Deserts & Drylands
Diet Omnivores Omnivores
Regions Western Europe, Central Europe, Eastern Europe Southern Africa
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

White-legged Damselfly

A pale, delicate damselfly with distinctively flattened white legs that the male waves during courtship displays. It prefers slow-flowing rivers and canals.

💡

Did You Know?

Males display their expanded white legs like flags to attract females during courtship.

Armoured Ground Cricket

A robust flightless katydid covered in sharp spines across its thorax and legs. It is an omnivorous insect found in arid bushveld.

💡

Did You Know?

They are cannibalistic and will devour injured members of their own species during mass marching events.