Dictyophorus spumans
| Koppie foam grasshopper | |
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| Adult | |
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| Nymph both in Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden, Roodepoort, South Africa | |
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| Species: | D. spumans
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| Binomial name | |
| Dictyophorus spumans (Thunberg, 1787)
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Dictyophorus spumans, the koppie foam grasshopper or rooibaadjie, is a species of grasshopper in the family Pyrgomorphidae indigenous to Africa. The name "foaming grasshopper" derives from the insect's ability to produce a toxic foam from its thoracic glands.[2] It is closely related to Phymateus.
It grows up to a length of 80 millimetres (3.1 in). The neck shield has a warty surface, and their color is highly variable. It is toxic due to the poisons that it sequesters from its diet, which includes a large number of toxic and distasteful plants such as milkweed.[3]
Races[]
- D. s. subsp. spumans – South Africa
- D. s. subsp. ater – northern South Africa and Zimbabwe
- D. s. subsp. pulchra – eastern South Africa and Mozambique
- D. s. subsp. servillei – widespread in Africa
- D. s. subsp. calceata – widespread in Africa
Gallery[]
Eating Aloe flowers 
Mating 
dorsal view
ventral view
Releasing toxic foam from thoracic glands
References[]
- ^ Googlebooks
- ^ Whitehouse, Christopher. "Foaming Grasshoppers". Phillipskop Mountain Reserve. Phillipskop Discovery Trails (Pty) Ltd. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
- ^ Mike Picker, Charles Griffiths & Alan Weaving (2004). Field guide to insects of South Africa. Struik. ISBN 978-1-77007-061-5.
Media related to Dictyophorus spumans at Wikimedia Commons
Categories:
- Pyrgomorphidae
- Orthoptera of Africa
- Insects described in 1787
- Caelifera stubs