Dictyophorus spumans, the koppie foam grasshopper, is a species of
grasshopper in the family
Pyrgomorphidae, indigenous to southern Africa. The name "foam grasshopper" derives from the insect's ability to produce a toxic foam from its
thoracic glands, using a combination of
hemolymph with air from the grasshopper's
spiracles. Adult males are typically 4.5 to 5 centimetres (1.8 to 2.0 inches) long, and females typically 5 to 7 centimetres (2.0 to 2.8 inches), but individual grasshoppers can grow up to a length of 8 centimetres (3.1 inches). This grasshopper of the subspecies
D. s. spumans was photographed in the
Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden in
Roodepoort, South Africa.
Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
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