Not all of the wildlife you come across is sweet, colourful or even majestic. Some creatures are almost Sci-fi in their appearance.
I was walking in the grounds of my hotel, Cortijo del Indiviso near Vejer de la Frontiera in Southern Andalucía, Spain, looking for birds, when suddenly this Locust jumped up from almost under my feet. At first I thought I’d disturbed a disoriented small bat, but it landed on this fencepost and stayed their until I recovered my composure enough to be able to photograph it.
The Egyptian Locust, aka Egyptian Grasshopper, Anacridium aegyptium, is a common and widespread species throughout much of Eurasia, and Africa and appaerently has been “casually introduced” to Britain. The strips on its hindlegs are diagnostic, as are its vertically-striped eyes. Although it is a folivore, it is not a swarming species, so isn’t considered a crop pest.
