Dictyophorus spumans, the koppie foam grasshopper, rooibaadjie, or African foam grasshopper, is a species of grasshopper in the family Pyrgomorphidae indigenous to southern Africa. The name "foaming grasshopper" derives from the insect's ability to produce a toxic foam from its thoracic glands.[2] The foam is created by a combination of hemolymph with air from the grasshopper's spiracles.[3] Its genus Dictyophorus is closely related to Phymateus.
| Dictyophorus spumans | |
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| Adult above, nymph below both D. s. spumans in Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden, South Africa | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Orthoptera |
| Suborder: | Caelifera |
| Family: | Pyrgomorphidae |
| Genus: | Dictyophorus |
| Species: | D. spumans
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| Binomial name | |
| Dictyophorus spumans (Thunberg, 1787)
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| Synonyms | |
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Adult males are typically 4.5–5 cm (1.8–2.0 in) long and females typically 5–7 cm (2.0–2.8 in),[4] but can grow up to a length of 8 cm (3.1 in).[5] The neck shield has a warty surface, and the grasshopper's colors are highly variable but usually with at least parts that are contrasting and bright. 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.[5]
Subspecies
edit- 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 – southern Africa
- D. s. subsp. calceata – southern Africa
Gallery
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Eating Aloe flowers -
Mating, note size difference -
Dorsal view of D. s. spumans -
Side view of D. s. spumans -
D. s. pulchra -
Ventral view -
Releasing toxic foam from thoracic glands
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References
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- ^ Henry Bennett Johnston (1956). Annotated Catalogue of African Grasshopers: Part Two. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-14912-9.
- ^ Whitehouse, Christopher (6 October 2015). "Foaming Grasshoppers". Phillipskop Mountain Reserve. Phillipskop Discovery Trails (Pty) Ltd. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
- ^ Mariño-Pérez, Ricardo; Song, Hojun (14 July 2017). "Phylogeny of the grasshopper family Pyrgomorphidae (Caelifera, Orthoptera) based on morphology". Systematic Entomology. 43 (1): 90–108. doi:10.1111/syen.12251.
- ^ Whitman, D.; Vincent, S. (2008). "Large size as an antipredator defense in an insect". Journal of Orthoptera Research. 17 (2): 353–371. doi:10.1665/1082-6467-17.2.353.
- ^ a b Mike Picker, Charles Griffiths & Alan Weaving (2004). Field guide to insects of South Africa. Struik. ISBN 978-1-77007-061-5.