Anacridium aegyptium (Linnaeus)

Taxonomy: Insecta, Hemimetabola, Orthoptera Acridoidea, Acrididae.

Common name: Egyptian tree locust.

Geographical distribution: The Egyptian tree locust occurs in all countries that border the Mediterranean and that are included in this compendium, and eastwards into Pakistan.

Host plants: This polyphagous insect feeds on grapevines in enclosed facilities as well as on the foliage of citrus and deciduous orchard trees, and on vegetables, but rarely on graminaceous plants.

Morphology: The adult female body of this locust, including the folded tegmina, is up to 90 mm in length; the male measures up to 65 mm. The mottled tegmina project beyond the end of the abdomen. Adults are grey-brown in color. The {hindwings](entry/Hindwings) are transparent with a purplish cast, and a curved band of darker aspect runs diagonally across them. A dull yellow line runs dorsally along the crest of the pronotum. The hind tibial spines are basally pale and apically dark-tipped. The juveniles are greenish.

(Pictures of Anacridium aegyptium and similar locusts)

Life cycle: The pest establishes one generation per year. The adult female undergoes a photoperiod-controlled reproductive diapause that lasts from September to January, and deposits eggs in the spring. Juveniles develop during the hot season, from April to August, with new adults appearing in autumn.

Economic importance: Anacridium aegyptium is generally regarded as a minor pest, but may occasionally cause local damage.

Management: Control measures are usually not needed for the occasional adults encountered. Due to their habit of roosting in trees during the winter diapause, it is not practical to control these pests with poisoned bait. If necessary, baits should be used against the juveniles during their development in summer. Chemical control measures being developed against migratory locusts may be appropriate also to control A. aegyptium.

References

Anonymous 1982. The Locust and Grasshopper Agricultural Manual. Centre for Overseas Pest research, London.

Fishelson, L. 1985. Orthoptera: Acridoidea, in: Fauna Palaestina, Insecta III. The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Jerusalem.

Geldiay, S. 1967. Hormonal control of adult reproductive diapause in the Egyptian grasshopper, Anacridium aegyptium L. Journal of Endocrinology 37: 63-71.

Geldiay, S. 1970. Photoperiodic control of neurosecretory cells in the brain of the Egyptian grasshopper, Anacridium aegyptium L. General and Comparative Endocrinology 14: 35-42.

Websites: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anacridium_aegyptium