About Schistocerca pallens (Thunberg, 1815)
Schistocerca pallens (Thunberg, 1815) is a large bird grasshopper that belongs to the subfamily Cyrtacanthacridinae, and is found across all of tropical America. It is a close relative of Schistocerca cancellata. Unlike Schistocerca cancellata, Schistocerca pallens does not display any swarming behaviour or locust phase polymorphism, even when raised in crowded laboratory conditions. Even though it is not a swarming locust, Schistocerca pallens can reach high enough population densities to cause economically significant damage to crops. It is mainly considered a pest of sugar cane, but has also been recorded causing damage to almond, banana, beans, breadfruit, carnauba wax palm, chickpeas, coconut palms, cotton, forage crops, groundnuts, indigo, legumes, maize, onions, rice, sorghum, sweet potato and tomatoes.
