Dictyophorus spumans
The Koppie Foam Grasshopper is a large (up to 8cm long) insect whose brilliant red-and-black colouration advertises to any would-be predator that it is poisonous enough to kill a dog. This poison is accumulated in the body tissues of the Koppie Foam Grasshopper when it feeds on poisonous plants from the milkweed family and is exuded in the form of a bloody foam when the insect is attacked. Their wings are far too short to permit flying. Koppie Foam Grasshoppers occur over most of South Africa, being absent only from Kwazulu-Natal and the eastern Free State. They live in open, sparsely vegetated and often rocky areas and are regularly encountered on hills (koppies in Afrikaans) and mountain tops.
Koppie Foam Grasshopper
Koppie Foam Grasshopper
Koppie Foam Grasshopper
Koppie Foam Grasshopper
Poisonous Koppie Foam Grasshopper
Koppie Foam Grasshopper
DeWetsWild 
Sjoe ek is bly ek het hulle nog nie teegekom nie Dries. Laat my dink aandie Common Milkweed Locust wat ons wel hier by ons kry!
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Eweneens een wat my nekhare ook laat rys daardie!
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Did not know that there were locusts that are poisonous. What kind of animals eat them?
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Nothing eats these insects routinely, John. They really are that poisonous!
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Sjoe, daardie foto van vooraf van die sprinkaan is nogal skrikwekkend!
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Hulle gee my behoorlik die horrie-piep!
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As usual, the Afrikaans name is beautifully (and practically) descriptive!
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I also thought the Afrikaans name really should be its only name, Anne. It really is fitting; pun intended!
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What an unusual (to me) and stunning grasshopper! That last shot on the bottom left makes him appear to be some sort of alien creature but oh, the coloring!!
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They are quite alien, and threatening, in appearance, Janet – definitely not any sort of invitation to a playdate! 😀
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Ja nee, gevaarlike ouens. Dis te verstane as hul die melkbos eet wat n giftige inhoud het. Moes toe eers gaan opsoek en vind toe dis ons sogenaamde “swan plant” waar die monarch skoenlapper hul eiers lê. https://www.nzbutterflies.org.nz/species/plants-2/monarch-host-plants/milkweed/
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En die “monarch” skoenlappers self is nie een om aan te peusel nie!
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Beslis nie. HUl het dan groot geword op gif!
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Those colors advertise its toxicity, but I wonder why those red and black milkweed bugs are not as poisonous.
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It may just be that they’re very distasteful, Hien, or even that they just mimic the warning colours of other poisonous creatures to keep themselves safe.
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