Spur-throated locust (Austracris guttulosa)

Spur-throated locust (Austracris guttulosa)
Spur-throated locust
Taxonomy
Family:	Acrididae
Subfamily:	Cyrtacanthacridinae
Genus:	Austracris
Additional resources
Full taxonomy at OSF

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The Spur-throated locust (Austracris guttulosa) is a large and notable species of locust found in Australia and New Zealand. Recognizable by the distinctive spur-shaped projection on its throat, this insect is known for its gregarious behavior, forming swarms that can pose a threat to agriculture. The Spur-throated locust is a polyphagous species, feeding on a wide range of plants, including crops and pastures. During periods of population increase, these locusts can undergo phase changes, transitioning from solitary individuals to highly mobile and destructive swarms. Efforts are often made to monitor and control their populations to mitigate potential damage to agricultural crops. Understanding the ecological dynamics and behavior of the Spur-throated locust is crucial for effective pest management in the regions it inhabits. Review information from the Australian Plague Locust Commission

Nomenclature

Austracris guttulosa (Walker, 1870). 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
Agriculture Victoria Australian plague locust identification, biology and behaviour	2022	View URL	Species identification, Biology, Behavior	English	Australia	Agriculture Victoria	2022
APLC locust and grasshopper identification guide		View URL	Management, Species identification	English	Australia	Australian Plague Locust Commission
Australian plague locust online learning module	2022	View URL	Species identification, Biology, Behavior, Management	English	Australia	Agriculture Victoria	2022
Locusts of Australia	2020	View URL	Management, Species identification	English	Australia	Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries	2020
Orthoptera Species File		View URL	Species identification, Biology	English	Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, Oceania	Orthoptera Species File Online

Biology

Review information from the Australian Plague Locust Commission

Life cycle parameters

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

Distribution

The major breeding areas are in the Gulf region of northern Australia in monsoonal tropical grasslands, extending south into the Central Highlands of Queensland.
Review information from the Australian Plague Locust Commission

For more information and distribution records see [GBIF]

Pest status

Outbreak media coverage

Querying the database found no results.

Organizations associated with the spur-throated locust

Organization name	Acronym	Website	Type	Focus	Focus keywords	Geographic purview
Agriculture Victoria		View URL	Government	Management, Education	Management	Australia
Australian Government Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry		View URL	Government	Information Hub		Australia
Australian National University	ANU	View URL	University	Research		Australia
Australian Plague Locust Commission	APLC	View URL	Government	Management, Research, Governance	Agricultural development, Control, Coordination, Education, Emergency assistance, Forecasting, Funding, Governance, Information hub, International development, Media, Monitoring, Policy, Regional cooperation, Research, Sustainable development, Technology, Training, Natural sciences	Australia
Australian Research Council	ARC	View URL	Government	Funding		Australia
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development	DPI WA	View URL	Government	Management	Monitoring, Control, Forecasting, Training	Australia
Department of Primary Industries and Regions	PIRSA	View URL	Government	Management, Development, Information Hub	Control, Sustainable development	Australia
Land Care Australia	LCA	View URL	Government	Funding		Australia
New South Wales Department of Primary Industries	NSW DPI	View URL	Government	Education, Management	Monitoring, Control, Forecasting, Training, Natural sciences	Australia
New South Wales Local Land Services	NSW LLS	View URL	Government	Management	Monitoring, Control, Natural sciences	Australia
Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries	QLD DPI	View URL	Government	Management	Monitoring, Control, Forecasting, Natural sciences	Australia
Western Australia Department of Agriculture and Food	DPIRD	View URL	Government	Information Hub, Governance, Management	Coordination, Monitoring	Australia

Resources

Name	Year published	Resource link	Descriptive keyword	Language	Geographic purview	Author	Year published
Agriculture Victoria locust and grasshopper online reporting form		View URL	Report	English	Australia	Agriculture Victoria
Australian Plague Locust Commission current locust situation		View URL	Locusts, Locust outbreaks, Outbreaks, Infestations, Distribution, Monitoring, Forecasting, Information hub, Weather, Rainfall	English	Australia	Australian Plague Locust Commission
Australian Plague Locust Commission locust bulletin		View URL	Locusts, Monitoring, Migration, Forecasting, Advisory note, Weather, Rainfall, Behavior, Survey, Distribution, Map	English	Australia	Australian Plague Locust Commission
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
Locusts in Queensland	2003	View URL	Taxonomy, History, Distribution, Biology, Ecology, Management	English	Australia	Queensland Government	2003
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