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Insects · Animal sounds

African migratory locust sounds

Locusta migratoria migratorioides

Hear what the African migratory locust sounds like in 2 recordings (Locusta migratoria migratorioides).

Listen to the African migratory locust

BioAcoustica 576 15 Locusta migratoria migratorioides 253b
5:08
BioAcoustica 576 14 Locusta migratoria migratorioides 253a
4:34

Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.

About the African migratory locust

The African migratory locust is a insect in the family Acrididae (order Orthoptera).

What does the African migratory locust sound like?

Insects make sound mechanically: crickets and grasshoppers rub a scraper against a file (stridulation), cicadas buckle ribbed membranes called tymbals, and bees and mosquitoes hum with their wingbeats.

From Wikipedia

Locusta migratoria migratorioides, commonly known as the African migratory locust, is a subspecies of the migratory locust family Acrididae.

It occurs in most of Africa south of the Sahara Desert, but its main breeding ground, and the original source of most plagues, is on the floodplains of the Niger River in West Africa. Much of the time, this locust adopts a solitary lifestyle, but under certain conditions, it becomes gregarious; the young nymphs, known as hoppers, form bands that move together and the adult insects form swarms that may reach plague proportions. Plagues of this locust took place from 1891 to 1903 and again from 1928 to 1941. After many years without outbreaks of the insects, further plagues occurred in the last two decades of the 20th century.

Related insects in the genus Locusta

More from the family Acrididae

Frequently asked questions

What does an African migratory locust sound like?

You can hear 2 recordings of the African migratory locust on this page. Insects make sound mechanically: crickets and grasshoppers rub a scraper against a file (stridulation), cicadas buckle ribbed membranes called tymbals, and bees and mosquitoes hum with their wingbeats.

What family does the African migratory locust belong to?

The African migratory locust (Locusta migratoria migratorioides) belongs to the family Acrididae in the order Orthoptera.

Sources & credits