Italian Locust

(Calliptamus italicus), an insect of the family Acrididae (grasshoppers), a dangerous agricultural pest. The body, which measures 1.5–41 mm, is brown or gray with a brown tinge. The wings are pink at their base. The Italian locust is widely distributed in Southern Europe, North Africa, Southwest Asia, Middle Asia, northwestern Mongolia, and China. It is also found in southern European USSR, the Caucusus, southwestern Siberia, Altai Krai, Kazakhstan, and Middle Asia. It dwells primarily in grassy wormwood steppes. In the north it grows predominantly in open places with coarse soils; in the south, in river valleys and oases. The Italian locust damages cotton, sunflowers, legumes, melons, potatoes, cereal grains, and many other crops. There is one generation each year. The eggs winter in clusters in the upper layer of soil. The larvae hatch in the spring, and the adults appear in June and July. In the gregarious stage, Italian locusts form swarms and flocks, resembling those of the migratory locust Schistocerca gregaria. In the solitary phase, Italian locusts do not congregate.