By Josie
January 9th, 2023
Locusts and grasshoppers are both included in the family of crickets and katydids.
Although they look quite similar, their behavior allows us to distinguish between them clearly.
Let's take a look!
They measure 2 inches in length.
An average grasshopper weighs 0.01 ounces.
Locusts typically measure 2-3 inches in length.
On average an adult locust weighs 1 ounce.
Grasshoppers can live up to 12 months.
However, there's only a 50% chance they survive this long due to predators.
The life expectancy of the locust is 3-6 months.
This is heavily affected by variables such as weather and food supply.
Grasshoppers are the more colorful of the two.
They come in a variety of patterns featuring green, olive, brown, yellow, and red.
Locusts come in more low-key colors.
Usually they are green, brown or black.
Grasshoppers don't have nests or territories, and almost all species are solitary.
They will only migrate short distances in search of food or shelter.
Locusts shift between living relatively isolated and forming swarms of millions of individuals (known as gregarisation).
Gregarisation is thought to be triggered by large amounts of rainfall.
Wings on grasshoppers rarely exceed their body length.
Grasshopper’s small wings only grant limited flying power; they can fly for about 40 feet (10 meters) at a time.
Their wings almost always exceed their body length.
Locusts have long and strong wings which allows them to fly long distances in the air with sustained flight capabilities.
Massive swarms of locusts have been able to ravage entire crop fields and disrupt local food supply and distribution
This can cause crises from financial stress caused by starvation or disease spread through malnutrition.
Therefore they pose an indirect yet lethal threat to human health, particularly in already underprivileged areas with little food security.
– Using traps to capture the insects.
– Using bait with insecticide to attract and kill adults.
– Cultivating extra crops around the infested areas to distract them from valuable resources.
– Rotating chemical pesticides.