Senegalese grasshopper

Definition

A medium-sized acridid grasshopper (Oedaleus senegalensis) native to the Sahel region of Africa, the Canary Islands, Cape Verde Islands, and West Asia. Despite its common name, it exhibits locust-like phenotypic plasticity: crowding induces gregarious behavior and morphological changes toward a migratory phase. In the Sahel, it frequently inflicts greater annual crop damage than true locusts, particularly on pearl millet and other staple grains.

Etymology

From Senegal, the West African country where the species was first described or prominently observed, plus grasshopper.

Example

During outbreak years in Mali and Niger, swarms of Senegalese grasshoppers can devastate pearl millet fields, yet because they are not classified as locusts, they often receive less international monitoring and control funding than desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) plagues.

Synonyms

• Oedaleus senegalensis

Related Terms

• locust
• gregarious phase
• phenotypic plasticity
• Sahel
• acridid
• Oedaleus
• Desert locust
• Migratory grasshopper

Usage Notes

Specialists distinguish this species from true locusts (e.g., Schistocerca, Locusta, Nomadacris) by its less dramatic phase transformation and non-swarming population dynamics, though the distinction is operational rather than strictly taxonomic. The common name is misleading: 'Senegalese' refers to geography, not endemism, and 'grasshopper' understates its locust-like ecology. In French agricultural literature, it may be called criquet sénégalais.