Bug FAQBrown Locust
Locustana pardalina · Order: Orthoptera · Family: Acrididae
Source: Wikipedia
The brown locust is a medium-sized locust found in Southern Africa that forms large, gregarious hopper bands. It breeds quickly, with 2 to 4 generations per year, and eggs hatch about ten days after a moderate rain event. Outbreaks are common in the Karoo and are managed by farmers using insecticide sprays or biological fungus products.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
It shows classic gregarious behaviour and phase polymorphism when crowded.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
It is a medium-sized small locust species.
Source: Wikipedia
How to get rid of it
Farmers control outbreaks with deltamethrin sprayed by ultra-low-volume mistblowers. A biological pesticide called Green Muscle, based on Metarhizium acridum, has also been tested for control.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It lives in Southern Africa, especially the Karoo region.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
The species can produce intense outbreaks that affect vegetation.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Eggs are laid in dry soil and hatch about ten days after 15 to 25 mm of rain.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Hatching occurs in summer after sufficient rainfall.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its native range is Southern Africa.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It is the only species in the monotypic genus Locustana.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
How can I get rid of brown locusts?
Farmers typically use deltamethrin insecticide applied with ultra-low-volume mistblowers, and some have used the fungal product Green Muscle as a biological control.
Source: Wikipedia
When do brown locust eggs hatch?
Eggs hatch about ten days after 15 to 25 mm of rain falls during the summer months.
Source: Wikipedia
Why do brown locusts form hopper bands?
When crowded, they become highly gregarious and aggregate into dense hopper bands.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Acrididae)
Differential GrasshopperMelanoplus differentialisDamages trees, gardens or crops
Two-striped GrasshopperMelanoplus bivittatusDamages trees, gardens or crops
Carolina GrasshopperDissosteira carolinaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Common Field GrasshopperChorthippus brunneus
Egyptian Bird GrasshopperAnacridium aegyptium
Gray Bird GrasshopperSchistocerca nitensDamages trees, gardens or cropsSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_locust
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.