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Koppie Foam Grasshopper in South Africa

Koppie Foam Grasshopper (Dictyophorus spumans) - South Africa

During a day hike to see Sani art (cave paintings) in the Drakensberg Mountains, we stopped to admire one of South Africa's large and colorful grasshoppers.

Update

Thanks to the comments on Reddit, this was identified as a Koppie Foam Grasshopper (Dictyophorus spumans). 

The red coloration is a warning sign that it's indeed poisonous, the result of consuming a steady diet of milkweed.

“The grasshoppers ingest these toxins which they exude in a foam from their thoracic joints for their own protection when threatened. Human and animal fatalities are known to have occurred from ingesting these grasshoppers.”Kruger Park News

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Speedhakoo

Thursday 30th of December 2010

will only be poisonous if you decide to eat it.

Speedhakoo

Thursday 30th of December 2010

Dave it's called San art. cool pic

Andrea

Friday 19th of November 2010

That's incredible. Never seen anything like it.

Dave

Friday 19th of November 2010

Thanks Andrea. I don't recall our guide mentioning it was poisonous when he picked it up so we could get a closer look!

Jack and Jill Travel

Wednesday 17th of November 2010

Holly molly! That's one gorgeous animal!

Monday 15th of November 2010

So what was the conversation on Reddit about the photo? Nice photo by the way!

Dave

Monday 15th of November 2010

The comments on Reddit are about trying to identify it. Turns out it's called a Koppie Foam Grasshopper, and as the bright red color suggests, is toxic (so don't be eating them!).

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