Family overview
Short antennae (shorter than the body). Ovipositors short. Ears (tympana) on first abdominal segment. Includes all the swarming locusts.
Desert locust swarms can contain billions of individuals and devastate crops across entire regions — plague of biblical scale.
At a glance
Family facts.
Distribution
Worldwide
Habitat
Terrestrial
Approx. species
11,000
Notable members
Desert locust, migratory locust, red-legged grasshopper, differential grasshopper, Rocky Mountain locust (extinct)