The last instar nymph of the Leprous Grasshopper (Phymateus leprosus)
Also known as the Toxic Milkweed Grasshopper, they feed on toxic plants and give off a foul smelling toxic foam when threatened.
There was a whole bunch of them all over a shrub just in front of Forest Camp on the Moholoholo Private Nature Reserve when I visited there on tour during December 2010.
This is a phenomenon known as juvenile gregariousness, with most of the young hopper stages forming dense aggregations on their food plants, and often bands of at least a hundred on the ground.
There is a detailed document entitled "Ten Instars in the Leprous Grasshopper" which gives lots more info on this interesting creature.
Moholoholo Forest Camp - near Hoedspruit - Limpopo - South Africa
December 2010
#wanderlust #travel #tour #touring #safari #southafrica #africa #insect #macro #grasshopper #entymology #nature #animal
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