Australian Plague Locust

The Australian plague locust (Chortoicetes terminifera) is a damaging, recurrent insect pest of pastures and crops throughout Australia. The greatest activity usually occurs from spring to autumn. Adults are approximately 30–40 mm with the female being slightly larger than the male. Two very distinctive features of the species are the black tipped rear wings and red shanks (tibia) on the hind legs. Additionally, above the shoulders there is a distinctive pale ‘X’ and this marking often extends towards the wings.