Dictyophorus spumans
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Dictyophorus spumans, the koppie foam grasshopper, rooibaadjie, or African foam grasshopper, is a species of grasshopper in the family Pyrgomorphidae indigenous to southern Africa. The name "foaming grasshopper" derives from the insect's ability to produce a toxic foam from its thoracic glands. The foam is created by a combination of haemolymph with air from the grasshopper's spiracles. Its genus Dictyophorus is closely related to Phymateus.
Adult males are typically 4.5–5 cm (1.8–2.0 in) long and females typically 5–7 cm (2.0–2.8 in), but can grow up to a length of 8 cm (3.1 in). The neck shield has a warty surface, and the grasshopper's colours are highly variable but usually with at least parts that are contrasting and bright. It is toxic due to the poisons that it sequesters from its diet, which includes a large number of toxic and distasteful plants such as milkweed. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
No species of the same family or order lives in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other insects.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Koppie Foam Grasshopper sighting in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 19th most-seen of the 44 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Koppie Foam Grasshopper in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–August, October and December–February, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Koppie Foam 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.
4th of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Koppie Foam Grasshopper sightings, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in West Coast National Park (South Africa, about 50%), De Hoop Nature Reserve (South Africa, about 40%) and Table Mountain National Park (South Africa, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Koppie Foam Grasshopper is recorded against all the insects logged in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park (8 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
