Species group · Insects
Locusts
WAnimals has 2 species of locust, all in the family Acrididae.
- 2 species
- 1 family
- 77 countries
- 65 parks
- Length
- 3.5 cm – 7.5 cm
- Lifespan
- 1 years
Ranges calculated from the entries that record the figure, not from all 2.
All 2 species of locusts on WAnimals
Each one has its own full entry. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.
Conservation status
No species documented in this group is genuinely at risk according to the IUCN, with the data available today.
See the global conservation statusWhere they live
Recorded in 77 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:
Where to see them
Did you know…
Its migrating swarms can travel more than 130 km in a single day on the prevailing winds.
From Migratory Locust
It eats grasses, cereal crops and practically any vegetation available once it swarms.
From Migratory Locust
The switch to the gregarious phase is triggered by crowding and mediated by a release of serotonin in its nervous system.
From Migratory Locust
The switch from the solitary to the gregarious phase is triggered by repeated physical contact on the hind legs, which sets off a surge of serotonin in the nervous system and completely changes the animal's behaviour within hours.
From Desert Locust
A swarm can cover hundreds of square kilometres, travel more than a hundred kilometres a day and eat as much food in one day as tens of thousands of people.
From Desert Locust
Its plagues are described in texts more than three thousand years old and still cause food emergencies in the Horn of Africa.
From Desert Locust