Senegalese grasshopper (Oedaleus senegalensis)

Senegalese grasshopper (Oedaleus senegalensis)
Senegalese grasshopper
Taxonomy
Family:	Acrididae
Subfamily:	Oedipodinae
Genus:	Oedaleus
Additional resources
Full taxonomy at OSF

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Oedaleus senegalensis (Krauss, 1877) is commonly called the Senegalese grasshopper or locust and is a significant agricultural pest in the Sahel region.

Nomenclature

Oedaleus senegalensis (Krauss, 1877). For full nomenclature, see this taxon's page on Orthoptera Species File

Identification

Oedaleus senegalensis is a medium-sized. Fully grown adults typically measure between 2 and 4 centimeters in length and weigh less than 0.5 grams. Their coloration can vary, spanning from shades of green or tan to a dark brown, often accompanied by dark markings.

The variability in coloration has been associated with ecological factors driven by the rainy seasons. At the beginning and conclusion of the rainy season, brown morphs prevail, whereas in the midst of the rainy season where vegetation is lush and green, green morphs are more prevalent (Chandra, 1983; Cheke, Fishpool, and Forrest, 1980; Diop, 1987).

Brown morphs are more common in fallow fields at the onset of the rainy season, where they are often found in higher densities (Le Gall, Word, Thompson, Manneh, et al., 2020).

For additional information see CIRAD profile here

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
A locust officer's field guide	2003	View URL	Behavior, Species identification, Outbreaks	English		Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Central Region, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations	2003
Community management of pest grasshoppers and locusts in Senegal	2020	View URL	Management, Species identification, Agriculturist guide	Wolof, French, English	Senegal	Global Locust Initiative, United States Agency for International Development, Directorate of Plant Protection	2020
FAO locust handbook identification key		View URL	Species identification, Locusts	English		FAO Desert Locust Information Service, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Locust identification in Niger	2022	View URL	Management, Species identification, Agriculturist guide	French, Zarma, Hausa	Niger	Global Locust Initiative, United States Agency for International Development, Directorate of Plant Protection, United Nations AGRHYMET Regional Center, Le Centre National de Lutte Antiacridienne, National Network of Agriculture Chambers of Niger	2022
Management of pest grasshoppers and locusts in Mali	2020	View URL	Management, Species identification, Agriculturist guide	Wolof, French, Fulfuldé, Bambara, Songhaï	Senegal	Global Locust Initiative, United States Agency for International Development, Directorate of Plant Protection	2020
Orthoptera Species File		View URL	Species identification, Biology	English	Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, Oceania	Orthoptera Species File Online
Pest grasshoppers and locusts in Senegal	2020	View URL	Management, Species identification, Agriculturist guide	Wolof, French, English	Senegal	Global Locust Initiative, United States Agency for International Development, Directorate of Plant Protection	2020
Pest locusts		View URL	History, Archive, Species identification	French, English	Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, Oceania	The French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development

Distribution

Oedaleus senegalensis is found across the entire Indo-Saharan region, stretching from the Atlantic, encompassing Cape Verde, to central India. This species thrives in tropical zones and is labeled as a significant pest. However, its economic impact is minimal to nonexistent in other areas. For more information and distribution records see [GBIF]

Biology

Life cycle parameters

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

Habitat and ecology

The Senegalese grasshopper is primarily graminivorous, rarely eating forbs and woody vegetation, with a preference for plants in the grass family, Poaceae. The diversity of their diet is influenced by the availability of wild grasses in their natural habitat. Boys in 1978.

Pest status

Prior to 1974, the Senegalese grasshopper was not regarded as a major pest in the Sahel region. However, outbreaks of this species and other grasshoppers covered 3.5 million hectares in West Africa between 1974 and 75, resulting in a loss of 368,000 tons in agricultural production (Bernardi, 1986; Lecoq, 1978). Since that time, O. senegalensis has consistently retained its position as the primary pest in the Sahelian region of West Africa (Cheke, 1990).

Outbreak media coverage

Querying the database found no results.

Organizations associated with the Senegalese grasshopper

Organization name	Acronym	Website	Type	Focus	Focus keywords	Geographic purview
Gaston Berger University	UBG	View URL	University	Development, Management, Research, Education	Agricultural development, Community development, Control, Arts and humanities, International development, Monitoring, Sustainable development, Training, Natural sciences	Senegal
Global Locust Initiative	GLI	View URL	University	Research, Education, Information Hub	Sustainable development, Ecology, Nutrition, Social science, Natural sciences, Agriculture, Agroecology, Biology, Behavior, Biological control, Climate change, Education, Sustainability science, Geometric framework, Grazing, Governance, Food security, Arts and humanities, Land use management, Landscape ecology, Locusts, Migration, Phase polyphenism, Phenotypic plasticity, Soil science	United States of America, Senegal, Australia, China, Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Mali
Ministry of Agriculture Sudan		View URL	Government		Agricultural development	Sudan
National School of Agriculture Senegal		View URL	University	Research	Training, Natural sciences	Senegal
Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur		View URL	University	Education, Research	Natural sciences	Pakistan
The French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development	CIRAD	View URL	Government	Education, Development, Research, Management	Forecasting, International development, Training, Agricultural development, Sustainable development, Natural sciences, Modeling, Monitoring, Research, Control, Community development	France

Projects

Numerous research projects looking at how land-use practices influence the Senegalese grasshopper (Oedaleus senegalensis) have built on each other over the years, creating a wealth of knowledge on this system and opportunities for alternative management strategies. Learn more about research on the Senegalese grasshopper in West Africa

Bay Sa Waar Communities for Sustainable Agriculture group photo

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
Locust Literature		View URL	Archive	French, English	Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, Oceania	The French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development
NSF Coupled Natural Human Systems Living with Locusts project summary	2021		Summary	English, Spanish, French	Senegal, Australia, China, United States of America	Australian Plague Locust Commission, Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Zoology, New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Grassland Research Institute, Inner Mongolia Agriculture University, Lanzhou University, New South Wales Local Land Services, Peace Corps Senegal, Directorate of Plant Protection, Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Sydney	2021
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
USAID Bay Sa Waar Communities for Sustainable Agriculture project summary	2021		Summary	English, Spanish, French	Senegal	United States Agency for International Development, The French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development, Global Locust Initiative, Gaston Berger University, Directorate of Plant Protection, United Nations AGRHYMET Regional Center, Le Centre National de Lutte Antiacridienne, McGill University, National Desert Locust Control Center, National Network of Agriculture Chambers of Niger, Office de la Protection des Végétaux, The International Committee of the Red Cross, Mira Word Ries	2021
USAID Transboundary Outbreak Pest ETOP bulletins		View URL	Information hub	English	Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean	United States Agency for International Development

Related academic papers

Top reviews on the species:

• (2023) Chapter 4 – Senegalese grasshopper—a major pest of the Sahel. In: Sivanpillai R, Shroder JF (Eds), Biological and Environmental Hazards, Risks, and Disasters (Second Edition).

• (2008) Ecology and management of the Senegalese grasshopper Oedaleus senegalensis (Krauss 1877) (Orthoptera: Acrididae) in West Africa: review and prospects.