Zonocerus elegans
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Zonocerus elegans is a common species of gaudy grasshopper in the family Pyrgomorphidae. It is native to Madagascar and sub-Saharan African savannah, though mainly south of the equator. It has sluggish habits and in many, underdeveloped wings. Adults measure some 3 to 5 cm (1.2 to 2.0 in) long, with males being smaller. Its life cycle is synchronized with rainfall.
The head is mainly black and the eyes orange, with the antennae placed between the latter. The antennae are banded orange and black, to which the generic name alludes. The shield (pronotum) is olive in colour, and the abdomen is banded in stark colours. Some do have long front (tegmina) and hind wings and can fly. Even these macropterous forms are poor flyers though. The pied nymphs are gregarious.
Mainly a savannah species which avoids dense forest and desert. It is a pest of various crops, especially those under irrigation. Affected crops include onions, amaranth, cashew nuts, pineapples, citrus, coffee, taro, cucurbits, carrots, yam, sunflowers, sweet potatoes, cassava, banana, tobacco and avocado. Native plants of the Asclepias, Senecio and Solanum genera are also favoured, besides the invasive... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Elegant Grasshopper sighting in Johannesburg on a given day, based on 26 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 52nd most-seen of the 213 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and February
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Elegant Grasshopper in Johannesburg on a given day, against under 5% in May–October and December, the lowest months. Those are among Johannesburg's wettest months, with about 100 mm of rain a month against almost none in July.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Elegant Grasshopper sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Elegant Grasshopper sightings, Johannesburg ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Pretoria (South Africa, about 20%) and Durban (South Africa, about 10%).
Same family: Pyrgomorphidae
The closest relatives of the Elegant Grasshopper that you can see in Johannesburg (family Pyrgomorphidae, Gaudy Grasshoppers) are Green Milkweed Locust (about 20%) and Koppie Foam Grasshopper (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Elegant Grasshopper is recorded against all the insects logged in Johannesburg (26 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.
