Bug FAQSpotted Locust
Aularches miliaris · Order: Orthoptera · Family: Pyrgomorphidae
Source: Wikipedia
Adults are 3.7 to 6.9 cm long, dark green with a yellow side band, green wings spotted yellow, blue legs with yellow patterns. They swarm in October to mate and lay eggs in soil, which can be disturbed by tilling. Native to South and Southeast Asia, they are rarely a serious threat to crops.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Males measure about 3.7 to 5.5 cm and females about 4.7 to 6.9 cm in length.
Source: Wikipedia
Is it a pest in the house?
Like many grasshoppers, it is considered a pest in agricultural areas.
Source: Wikipedia
Does it bite or sting?
When disturbed it makes a sharp rasping noise from its thorax. If the thorax is pinched it squirts a clear, viscous mucus that smells bad, tastes bitter, is faintly alkaline, and contains many bubbles.
Source: Wikipedia
How to get rid of it
Tilling the soil where eggs are deposited can reduce their numbers. Collecting the grasshoppers or applying pesticides can also control populations, though pesticides may harm other organisms.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They gather on bushes and grasses during their October swarming season. Outbreaks that damage cultivated crops are uncommon.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Egg laying in soil helps aerate the ground and supports biodiversity.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Females lay eggs in the soil, which later hatch into nymphs.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Swarming, mating, and egg-laying all occur in October.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It is native to South and Southeast Asia.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
How can I get rid of a swarm?
Tilling the area to destroy egg pods or manually collecting the insects are effective; pesticides work but can affect other wildlife.
Source: Wikipedia
What does it look like?
It has a dark-green head and thorax with a yellow side band, green wings dotted with yellow spots, and blue legs with yellow patterns on the hind femora.
Source: Wikipedia
Does it bite or sting?
If handled, it may hiss and spray an irritating, bitter-tasting mucus from its thorax.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Pyrgomorphidae)
Koppie Foam GrasshopperDictyophorus spumans
Elegant grasshopperZonocerus elegansDamages trees, gardens or crops
Northern Grass PyrgomorphAtractomorpha similisDamages trees, gardens or crops
Painted GrasshopperPoekilocerus pictusDamages trees, gardens or crops
Green Milkweed LocustPhymateus viridipes
Variegated grasshopperZonocerus variegatusDamages trees, gardens or cropsSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aularches
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.