Locusta migratoria
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The migratory locust (Locusta migratoria) is the most widespread locust species, and the only species in the genus Locusta. It occurs throughout Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Because of the vast geographic area it occupies, which comprises many different ecological zones, numerous subspecies have been described. However, not all experts agree on the validity of some of these subspecies. While it reaches plague proportions in drier areas, it is solitary in northern Australia savannas.
Many other species of grasshopper with gregarious and possibly migratory behaviour are referred to as 'locusts' in the vernacular, including the widely distributed desert locust. At 6.5 Gbp, the migratory locust possesses one of the largest known insect genomes.
The migratory locust is polyphenic. It transitions between two main phenotypes in response to population density; the solitary phase and the gregarious phase. As the density of the population increases the locust transforms progressively from the solitary phase towards the gregarious phase with intermediate phases:
Pigmentation and size of the migratory locust vary according to its phase (gregarious or solitary... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ranomafana National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 2 | Camargue | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Abel Tasman National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 4 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Migratory Locust sighting in Hong Kong on a given day, based on 15 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 555th most-seen of the 1125 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January–February and September–October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Migratory Locust in Hong Kong on a given day, against under 5% in March–August and November–December, the lowest months. Those are among Hong Kong's driest months, with about 70 mm of rain a month against 280 mm in June.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Migratory Locust sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
11th of 15
Of the 15 cities where we can rate Migratory Locust sightings, Hong Kong ranks 11th at under 5%. The best odds are in Nagoya (Japan, about 20%), Barcelona (Spain, about 10%) and Osaka (Japan, about 10%).
Same family: Acrididae
The closest relatives of the Migratory Locust that you can see in Hong Kong (family Acrididae, Short-horned Grasshoppers) are Carinate Locust (about 10%), Ceracris nigricornis (about 10%) and Short-Winged Rice Grasshopper (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Migratory Locust is recorded against all the insects logged in Hong Kong (15 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
