You’re probably here because something fast, crunchy, and winged just zipped past your head in the backyard. Or maybe you saw a terrifying news clip of a "plague" and thought, wait, is that just a big grasshopper? If you want to show me a picture of a locust, you have to understand that a "locust" isn't actually a specific species in the way a Lion or a Honeybee is. It’s more like a Jekyll and Hyde situation.
Most of the time, they are just solitary grasshoppers. They mind their own business. They hang out on a blade of grass, eat a little bit, and avoid their neighbors. then, the environment changes. Maybe there’s a sudden burst of vegetation after a drought. Suddenly, these insects are forced together. They start bumping into each other. Their hind legs touch. This physical contact triggers a hormonal surge of serotonin that physically transforms them. They change color. Their brains grow. They get stronger. They become a swarm.
What a Locust Actually Looks Like Under the Lens
If you look at a photo of a Desert Locust (Schistocerca gregaria), you’ll notice it doesn't look like the green grasshopper from a children’s book. In its "solitary" phase, it’s often a dull, camouflaged green or brown. It wants to hide. But look at a photo of the "gregarious" phase. It’s a striking, bright yellow. It’s bold. It’s basically screaming, "I am here to eat everything you love."
The eyes are a giveaway too. In many high-resolution shots, you can see the compound eyes of a locust are often striped or spotted. They have these incredibly powerful mandibles designed for one thing: grinding plant matter. A single swarm can cover hundreds of square miles. Imagine 40 to 80 million locusts packed into less than half a square mile. They can eat as much food in a day as 35,000 people. It’s not just an insect; it’s a biological machine.
The Anatomy of a Swarm Member
Let's get technical for a second. When you see a picture of a locust, pay attention to the wings. The forewings are leathery and tough, acting as a shield for the delicate, fan-like hind wings used for flight. They are world-class marathon runners. These insects can fly downwind for hundreds of miles without stopping.
There are about a dozen species that exhibit this "swarming" behavior. The Migratory Locust (Locusta migratoria) is the most widespread, found across Africa, Asia, and Europe. Then there’s the Australian Plague Locust. Each looks slightly different, but they all share that terrifying ability to change their physical shape and behavior based on "crowding."
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Why We Confuse Them With Grasshoppers
Every locust is a grasshopper, but not every grasshopper is a locust. It sounds like a riddle, but it's the truth. Most of the 11,000 species of grasshoppers on Earth will never swarm. They stay solitary. They die solitary.
If you’re in North America and you’re asking to show me a picture of a locust, you might actually be looking at a Cicada. This is a huge point of confusion. Many people in the U.S. South call the 17-year "Periodical Cicadas" locusts. They aren't. Cicadas have clear, translucent wings and make a deafening buzzing sound. Locusts (grasshoppers) have chewing mouthparts and shorter antennae. Cicadas have "sucking" mouthparts to drink tree sap.
Actually, the only true locust North America ever had—the Rocky Mountain Locust—went extinct over a century ago. It’s one of the great mysteries of entomology. They used to form swarms the size of California, then they just... vanished.
Seeing the Change in Real Time
If you were to look at a side-by-side picture of a locust in its two phases, you’d swear they were different animals.
- Solitary Phase: Short wings, green/brown coloring, very little movement.
- Gregarious Phase: Longer wings, bright warning colors (yellow/orange/black), high activity levels.
Researchers like Dr. Stephen Simpson have spent years studying this "phase polyphenism." They found that if you simply tickle the hind legs of a solitary grasshopper for a few hours, it starts to act like a locust. It’s a mechanical trigger. It’s literally built into their DNA to become a monster when the room gets too crowded.
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The Global Impact You Can't See in a Single Photo
A photo shows you a bug. It doesn't show you the crisis. In 2020, East Africa faced its worst locust infestation in decades. Billions of insects descended on Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. When you see a picture of a locust swarm from a distance, it looks like a thick, dark cloud of smoke. It’s actually billions of sets of wings vibrating at once.
The sound is often described as a "rushing wind." They strip a field of maize to the ground in minutes. For a farmer in a developing nation, a single picture of a locust on their crop isn't an interesting nature fact—it's a death sentence for their livelihood.
Identifying Your "Locust" at Home
If you've found a large insect and want to know if it's "the" locust, check these features.
First, look at the antennae. Are they short? If they are long and hair-like, you’ve probably found a Katydid. Second, look at the legs. Locusts have massive, muscular rear legs for jumping. Third, look at the "saddle" or the pronotum (the shield-like structure behind the head). In swarming species, this shape actually shifts to accommodate more muscle for long-distance flight.
Honestly, unless you live in specific regions of Africa, the Middle East, or Australia, what you're seeing is probably just a Differential Grasshopper or a Lubber Grasshopper. Lubbers are huge—some can grow to nearly 4 inches long—and they are often bright yellow with black markings. They look like "scary" locusts, but they can't even fly. They just hop around and eat your lilies.
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Real-World Data on Locust Threats (2024-2026)
The FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) keeps a "Locust Watch." They use satellites to track soil moisture. Why? Because locusts lay their eggs in damp soil. If we can see where the rain is falling in the desert, we can predict where the next "picture of a locust" swarm will emerge.
Currently, climate change is making these events more frequent. Unpredictable cyclones create perfect breeding grounds in places like the "Empty Quarter" of the Arabian Peninsula. More rain means more grass. More grass means more hoppers. More hoppers means... well, you get the idea.
How to Handle an "Infestation" in Your Backyard
If you are dealing with a local population of large grasshoppers, don't panic. You don't need a crop duster.
- Identify specifically what you have. Take a clear photo and use an app like iNaturalist. Most "locust" sightings in suburban areas are harmless local species.
- Encourage natural predators. Birds, toads, and even some species of wasps love eating large grasshoppers. A healthy garden ecosystem usually keeps them in check.
- Physical barriers. If they are eating your prize tomatoes, bird netting or row covers are more effective than trying to spray individual bugs.
- Tilling the soil. If you have a massive outbreak every year, tilling your garden in late fall can expose the egg pods to the cold, killing them off before they hatch in the spring.
The next time you ask to show me a picture of a locust, remember you aren't just looking at a bug. You're looking at one of nature's most extreme survivalists. An animal that can literally rewrite its own biology just because it felt a neighbor brush up against it. It’s a reminder of how weird and adaptable life on Earth really is.
Actionable Next Steps
- Download a specialized ID app: If you found a specimen, use Seek by iNaturalist to get an instant species identification.
- Check the FAO Locust Watch: If you live in an at-risk region, monitor the FAO's real-time maps to see if swarms are migrating toward your area.
- Document and Report: If you see an unusual concentration of large, swarming insects, take a photo and contact your local agricultural extension office. Early detection is the only way to prevent a localized "hopping" group from becoming a flying swarm.