Poison

African milkbush causes painful blistering and inflammation

Euphorbia tirucalli (Euphorbiaceae) Common names: Ngego, ngewu, nlembonlembo (nlembo = finger) (Kongo), Euphorbe effilée, tirucalli (Fr), finger tree, finger euphorbia, African milkbush Description A leafless succulent shrub with cylindrical shoots, 2 – 8 m tall. All parts produce copious white…

Koppie Foam Grasshoppers

Koppie Foam Grasshoppers (Dictyophorus spumans) are indigenous to South Africa and prefer sparse and low vegetation on rocky outcrops. They are flightless and have some aposematic coloring, which are yellow or orange stripes on the warty thorax shield and stripes…

Poisonous beauty: The ‘Elegant Grasshopper’

Aposematic coloration The ‘Elegant Grasshopper’ (Zonocerus elegans) occurs commonly throughout Southern Africa and is mentioned due to its aposematic coloration, which is typical for animals that want to announce that they are poisonous. And he is a poisonous grasshopper. In…