Alice Springs Fauna •
Alice Springs FaunaAlice Springs Native Bees Alice Springs Beetles Alice Springs Birds Alice Springs Gastropods (Gastropoda) Alice Springs Insects Alice Springs Marsupials Alice Springs Reptiles Alice Springs Spiders
The Spur-throated Locust (Austracris guttulosa) is an Australian native species, whose life span is between 10 to 12 months (usually from autumn to summer). The one pictured here was observed in April during the autumn season of Central Australia.
The juvenile spur-throated locusts are green or yellow. The backs of older juveniles may also show a dark or pale stripe. The adults are pale brown and have colourless wings, white and dark markings on the thorax. The hind legs are yellow with two rows of white spines. The adult female are typically 45-65 mm long, whilst the male are typically 35-45 mm long.
Considered a significant agricultural pest, and during periods of overpopulation, the Spur-throated Locust is managed in Australia by the Australian Plague Locust Commission.
The Spur-throated Locust was found sheltering in a rose in a local urban garden in Alice Springs. It was possibly sheltering during the cold nights.
- Scientific classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Subphylum: Hexapoda
- Class: Insecta
- Informal: Pterygotes
- Order: Orthoptera
- Suborder: Caelifera
- Superfamily: Acridoidea
- Family: Acrididae
- Subfamily: Catantopinae
- Tribe: Cyrtacanthacridini
- Genus: Austracris
- Species: Austracris guttulosa
Footnote & References
- Many thanks to Olivia Nettlefold for ID, member of Australian Orthopteroids, https://www.facebook.com/groups/1999965293682453
- Austracris guttulosa (Walker, 1870), Spur-Throated Locust, Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/eac42e58-fc47-49f8-a387-6789533f0f38
Alice Springs FaunaAlice Springs Native Bees Alice Springs Beetles Alice Springs Birds Alice Springs Gastropods (Gastropoda) Alice Springs Insects Alice Springs Marsupials Alice Springs Reptiles Alice Springs Spiders
Alice Springs FloraAlice Springs Flora Index Acacia ligulata Annual Yellowtop Apple Bush Bougainvillea Burdekin Plum Carob Tree (Ceratonia siliqa) Cattle Bush Desert Cotton (Aerva javanica) Desert Oak Eremophila Wildberry Feijoa sellowiana Flannel Cudweed Fork-leaf Corkwood Ghost Gum Golden Everlasting Kurrajong Lemon-flowered Gum MacDonnell’s Desert Fuchsia Native Bluebell Native Tomato Needlewood Olive Tree Perennial Yellow Top Rat’s Tail River Red Gum Inland River Red Gum Rosy Dock Round-leaved Mallee Scurvy Grass Silky Eremophila Stemodia viscosa Striped Mintbush Sturt’s Desert Pea Sturt’s Desert Rose Tangled Leschenaultia Tar Vine Weeping Bottlebrush White Cedar Yellow Billybutton Yellow-keeled Swainsona Yellow Oleander
Alice SpringsAlice Springs Accommodation Alice Springs Pet Friendly Accommodation Alice Springs Art & Culture Alice Springs Attractions Alice Springs Directory Alice Springs Distance Alice Springs Festival & Events Alice Springs Flora and Fauna Alice Springs Fauna Alice Springs Flora Getting Around Alice Springs Alice Springs Aboriginal Tours Alice Springs Tours Alice Springs Tours – Other