Overview
The Armoured Bush Cricket (Acanthoplus discoidalis), often known across southern Africa as the armoured ground cricket or koringkriek, is a formidable, tank-like orthopteran famous for its spiny exoskeleton and dramatic defensive tactics. Inhabiting the harsh arid savannas and semi-deserts of the Kalahari Basin, this stout, wingless insect commands attention not only for its rugged appearance, but also for its capacity to undergo sudden population explosions that form marching swarms reminiscent of desert locusts.
Biology and Physical Characteristics
Acanthoplus discoidalis is a heavily built insect reaching up to seven centimeters in body length. Its head and enlarged thoracic shield (pronotum) are adorned with sharp, rigid spines designed to deter vertebrate predators. The abdomen is swollen and segmented, colored in earthy shades of greyish-brown, tan, or chalky white. Although completely flightless due to vestigial wings, it possesses formidable spiny jumping legs and immense, sharp-edged mandibles capable of delivering a painful bite. Males produce a loud, rasping courtship stridulation by rubbing modified forewing stubs together.
Behavior and Ecology
Omnivorous and highly opportunistic, the Armoured Bush Cricket consumes a wide variety of desert vegetation, including nutritious grass seeds, wildflowers, and agricultural sorghum crops. However, it exhibits intense protein-seeking behavior and will eagerly scavenge animal carcasses or engage in cannibalism if a conspecific is injured or crushed. When attacked by predators such as mongooses, jackals, or birds, the cricket performs an astonishing defense known as auto-hemorrhaging (reflex bleeding): it intentionally squirts foul-tasting, caustic yellowish-green hemolymph from pores on its thorax and leg joints up to several centimeters, sickening and repelling attackers.
Conservation and Human Impact
Currently assessed as Least Concern, Acanthoplus discoidalis maintains resilient populations throughout its vast desert and savanna range. In southern African farming communities, localized mass emergences can cause substantial economic damage to cereal grain and sunflower fields. Nonetheless, the species fulfills an essential ecological function as a vital, nutrient-rich seasonal prey source for a myriad of desert carnivores, birds of prey, and reptiles, recycling vast amounts of arid biomass.
Interesting Factoid
If threatened by a predator, the Armoured Bush Cricket can squirt noxious blood up to six centimeters across with pin-point accuracy, aiming directly at the eyes of its attacker.
Last updated: October 2026