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Milkweed Locust
Phymateus leprosus subsp. leprosus
-26.3022, 31.958
Field Notes
Description:
about 70 millimetres (2.8 in) long at maturity and capable of long migratory flights. Its body and forewings are green in colour while the hindwings are bright red and blue, presenting a striking appearance in flight. The pronotum, or dorsal area immediately behind the head, is covered in spines or carbuncles which are often tipped with red. The nymphs or hoppers are bright yellow and black and highly gregarious, forming large groups during this growth stage and are more or less polyphagous.
Habitat:
Meadow (Hyaena pool area, Mlawula Nature reserve)
Notes:
As with other Phymateus species it raises and rustles its wings when disturbed and may secrete a noxious fluid from its thoracic joint. This locust feeds on highly toxic plants such as Acokanthera oppositifolia and Secamone alpinii. They congregate in large numbers on trees and shrubs, arranged in such a way as to resemble foliage.
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