Grasshopper Attempts to Enter the UK
A painted grasshopper from India arrived at Stanstead Airport last week
The painted grasshopper or Poeklocerus Pictus is known in India as a crop munching pest.
It is 6cm long with bright blue and yellow stripes on its body which are designed to scare potential predators.
The insect was identified at the quarantine area at Stanstead Airport by the Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera).
The BBC quotes Chris Malumphy, a Fera entomologist as saying ‘The visitor has a voracious appetite and rapidly ate its way through a whole cabbage plant whilst in the quarantine lab.
The insect is an economic pest in India but the expert’s state that it was found alone and so couldn’t breed, plus it wouldn’t get on very well with the British winter weather. So the grasshopper is not a threat to nature in the UK at this time. Beautiful insect though.
Tags: Airport, India, Painted Grasshopper, Stanstead
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