Susan's Snazzy Arthropod of the Day: Zonocerus elegans

This is Zonocerus elegans, or the "elegant grasshopper." Native to southern Africa, it was commonly found in the area in Mozambique where I used to live. Its species name, though, refers only to its coloration, not to its locomotion: it has got to be the most ungraceful, clumsy excuse for a grasshopper I've ever seen. When it hops, it rarely ever seems to land how one might expect it wanted to; instead of hopping in a manner that would allow it to proceed in a straight, efficient path, it tends to sort of slowly flop, landing sideways or backwards or sometimes not even on its feet. Maladaptive? Nah, you don't have to be an effective escape artist if you're as nasty-tasting as these guys are. They have a predilection for eating poisonous plants and sequestering the toxins as a predator defense. Additionally, they secrete a foul-smelling yellow goo when handled, and taste accordingly. Most things won't touch them, and they often can be a pest in agricultural settings.
Unfortunately for Z. elegans, though, some humans like funny-tasting stuff. The Pedi people of South Africa, for example, traditionally enjoyed them as a relish with porridge. I'm not certain how they dealt with the sequestered poisons; perhaps the concentrations are generally too low to affect humans, or the poisonous substances (generally cardiac glycosides or pyrrolizadine alkaloids, even cannabinoids) are degraded upon cooking.
In any case, other than their zesty flavor, I'm sure the Pedi also enjoyed how darn easy they are to catch. I would have liked to have been shown the proper way to catch them and cook them up. Nowadays, though, Z. elegans doesn't have as much to worry about. With entomophagy and other traditional diets on the wane in southern Africa, this pretty insect must be breathing a little grasshopper sigh of relief as it flounders off into the sunset, uneaten.


Photo by Lambert Smith, from insecta.co.za. Used with permission.