Cyrtacanthacris aeruginosa explained

Cyrtacanthacris aeruginosa or simply, green tree locust,^{[1] [2] [3]} is a large species of grasshopper that can be found in the grasslands of Africa. They pertain to the genus Cyrtacanthacris and are composed by three subspecies, C. a. aeruginosa, C. a. flavescens and C. a. goldingi, all three of them descend from a unique ancestor.^[4] The specie is univoltine, that is, it only produces one brood of offspring per year, furthermore it also experiences egg diapause, meaning that the eggs have a phase of suspended or arrested growth.^[5] In terms of overwintering strategy, Aeruginosa adults mate and then the female lay the eggs and die before the dry season, the eggs stay in diapause for 7 months and take 45–67 days to incubate.^[6]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Wildlife Den – South African Wildlife Photography » Green Tree Locust . 2023-09-01 . en-US.
2. Web site: Green Tree Locust . 2023-09-01 . Project Noah.
3. Web site: Green tree locust (Grasshoppers, Locusts and allies of South Africa) · iNaturalist . 2023-09-01 . iNaturalist . en.
4. Song . Hojun . Wenzel . John W. . August 2008 . Phylogeny of bird-grasshopper subfamily Cyrtacanthacridinae (Orthoptera: Acrididae) and the evolution of locust phase polyphenism . Cladistics . en . 24 . 4 . 515–542 . 10.1111/j.1096-0031.2007.00190.x. 34879633 . 31148667 .
5. Bam . Adrian . Addison . Pia . Conlong . Desmond . 2020 . Acridid ecology in the sugarcane agro-ecosystem in the Zululand region of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa . Journal of Orthoptera Research . 29 . 1 . 9–16 . 10.3897/jor.29.34626 . 26976734 . 210964805 . 1082-6467. free .
6. Jerath . M. L. . 2009-04-02 . Notes on the biology of some short-horned grasshoppers from Eastern Nigeria (Orthoptera: Acridoidea) . Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society of London. Series A, General Entomology . en . 43 . 1–3 . 27–38 . 10.1111/j.1365-3032.1968.tb01230.x.