Poekilocerus pictus is a large brightly coloured grasshopper found in the Indian subcontinent.[1]Nymphs of the species are notorious for squirting a jet of liquid up to several inches away when grasped.[2] It is also known as Aak grasshopper [3] or locally in few tribal areas called titighodo.[4]
Description
Adult form
The half-grown immature form is greenish-yellow with fine black markings and small crimson spots. The mature grasshopper has canary yellow and turquoise stripes on its body, green tegmina with yellow spots, and pale red hind wings.[2]
Upon slight pinching of the head or abdomen, the half-grown immature form ejects liquid in a sharp and sudden jet, with a range of two inches or more, from a dorsal opening between the first and second abdominal segments. The discharge is directed towards the pinched area and may be repeated several times. The liquid is pale and milky, slightly viscous and bad-tasting,[2] containing cardiac glycosides that the insect obtains from the plant it feeds upon.[5][6]
In the adult, the discharge occurs under the tegmina and collects as viscous bubbly heap along the sides of the body.[2]
^ abcdeHingston, M. R. W. G. (2009). "The Liquid-Squirting Habit of Oriental Grasshoppers". Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London. 75: 65. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2311.1927.tb00060.x.
Aak grasshopper mating
