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 |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Migratory Locust sighting in Madrid on a given day, based on 17 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 191st most-seen of the 457 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.
October
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Migratory Locust in Madrid on a given day, against under 5% in December to August, the lowest months. That is one of Madrid's wettest months, with about 65 mm of rain against 10 mm in July.
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.
9th of 15
Of the 15 cities where we can rate Migratory Locust sightings, Madrid ranks 9th at about 10%. 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 Madrid (family Acrididae, Short-horned Grasshoppers) are Egyptian Bird Grasshopper (about 20%), Blue-Winged Grasshopper (about 10%) and Iberian Field 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 Madrid (17 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.
