Italian locust (Calliptamus italicus)

Italian locust (Calliptamus italicus)
Italian locust
Taxonomy
Family:	Acrididae
Subfamily:	Calliptaminae
Genus:	Calliptamus
Additional resources
Full taxonomy at OSF

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The Italian locust (Calliptamus italicus) is found throughout western Europe and central Asia. This species has been reported as a pest since medieval times and outbreaks still occur commonly today. In the Siberian steppe this locust can reach densities of over 20 million individuals per hectare.

Nomenclature

Calliptamus italicus (Linnaeus, 1758). For full nomenclature, see this taxon's page on Orthoptera Species File

Identification

Phase	Stage	Color	Wings	Legs
Gregarious	nymph
Gregarious	immature adult
Gregarious	mature adult
Solitarious	nymph
Solitarious	immature adult
Solitarious	adult

Identification resources

Name	Year published	Resource link	Descriptive keyword	Language	Geographic purview	Author	Year published
Orthoptera Species File		View URL	Species identification, Biology	English	Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, Oceania	Orthoptera Species File Online

Distribution

The Italian Locust (also known as the stout-bodied grasshopper) is found throughout Western Europe and Central Asia.

For more information and distribution records see [GBIF]

Biology

Life cycle parameters

Phase	Developmental time
Eggs
Hopper
Adult
Laying-fledging
Adult maturation
Total

Pest status

This species has been reported as a pest since medieval times and outbreaks remain common to date. In the Siberian steppes this locust can reach densities over 2000 individuals m⁻².

Media coverage

Name	Year published	Resource link	Descriptive keyword	Language	Geographic purview	Author	Year published
Italian island of Sardinia infested with locusts	2022	View URL	Video, General locust education	English	Italy	DW News	2022
Kazakhstan Tries To Ward Off Locust Invasion	2024	View URL	Media article, Locust outbreaks	English	Kazakhstan	The Times of Central Asia	2024

Organizations associated with the Italian locust

Organization name	Acronym	Website	Type	Focus	Focus keywords	Geographic purview
FAO Locust Watch Locusts in Caucasus and Central Asia	CCA	View URL	Intergovernmental Organization	Education, Information Hub, Governance	Training, Regional cooperation, Monitoring, Control, Policy, Forecasting	Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Russian Federation, Kyrgyzstan
Scientific Research Institute of Plant Quarantine and Protection		View URL	Government			Uzbekistan

Resources

Name	Year published	Resource link	Descriptive keyword	Language	Geographic purview	Author	Year published
2014 evaluation of field trials data on the efficacy and selectivity of insecticides on locusts and grasshoppers	2014	View URL	Pesticides, Management, Pesticide management, Chemical control	English		Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Central Region, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations	2014
CABI Green Muscle education videos	2021	View URL	Video, Biological control, Biopesticide, Metarhizium acridum, Storage, Dosage, Application, PPE and cleaning	Arabic, French, Russian, English	Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, Oceania		2021
CCA locust bulletins			Forecasting, Report, Locusts, Locust outbreaks	English	Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Georgia (country), Russian Federation, Armenia, Azerbaijan	FAO Locust Watch Locusts in Caucasus and Central Asia, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
FAO Locust Watch bulletin for Locusts in Caucasus and Central Asia		View URL	Forecasting, Information hub, Emergency alerts	English	Afghanistan, Georgia (country), Russian Federation, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan	FAO Locust Watch Locusts in Caucasus and Central Asia, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Report Technical Workshop on Locusts In Caucasus and Central Asia	2022	View URL	Report, Monitoring, Public health, Forecasting, Management	English	Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan	FAO Locust Watch Locusts in Caucasus and Central Asia, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations	2022
Sustainable use and conservation of microbial and invertebrate biological control agents and microbial biostimulants	2023	View URL	Management, Biological control, Biopesticide	English	Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, Oceania	Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International	2023