This armored creature in Africa has 5 defense mechanisms against enemies. One of these becomes their fatal flaw.
Africa is home to a plethora of strange and unique animal species. They differ in shape, biological characteristics, and survival strategies. Among them is the African Armored Cricket (scientific name: Acanthoplus discoidalis).
The external “armor” of the African giant cricket.
True to their name, this large cricket species has a body length of 5 cm, with sharp, small spines on its thorax and legs, as well as strong biting jaws. They have the ability to spray blood if attacked. Males can also produce loud, piercing sounds by rubbing body parts together in a behavior called stridulation.
Acanthoplus discoidalis has several names, including armored bush cricket, armored ground cricket, armored katydid, corn cricket, setotojane, and koringkrieke.
This insect species originates from the bush of Africa and is widely distributed across Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.
The menacing appearance of the African armored cricket. (Photo: Adobe Stock).
African armored crickets can come in various colors, but the species we commonly see tends to be brown to olive green. Their thorax and legs are adorned with sharp spines, which contribute to their name as armored crickets.
These crickets are classified as pests in Africa—they feed on millet and sorghum. In Namibia (a country in southern Africa), armored crickets are considered a frightening wild animal because they can cause crop damage when populations peak from March to May each year.
Armored crickets destroying crops in Africa. (Photo: Sonia Soma via Wikimedia Commons).
Farmers in Siavonga (Zambia) lost 70-100% of their crops in 2022 due to destruction by armored crickets. Affected crops included sorghum, millet, pumpkins, black-eyed peas, and cucumbers.
5 Elite Defense Mechanisms of the African Armored Cricket
Since armored crickets are a tasty meal for various predators, they have evolved to possess a series of remarkable defense mechanisms.
These strategies can be selectively deployed depending on gender to counter different threats.
When threatened, the armored cricket “activates” 5 defense modes. (Photo: RUDIBOS BOUER via WIKIMEDIA COMMONS).
- The first line of defense for the armored cricket is its hard “armor,” which protects it from predators. In addition to the armor, the thorax is covered with sharp spines.
- The second line of defense comes from its strong jaws and a bite powerful enough to draw blood. Both males and females will attempt to bite if attacked.
- The third line of defense is a characteristic unique to male armored crickets. Males can produce loud, piercing noises by rubbing their body parts together (known as stridulation). When attacked from the side, males will stridulate to scare off predators or to signal.
- The fourth line of defense is blood spraying. If their “armored” exoskeleton, sharp spines, strong jaws, and loud noises fail to deter a predator, armored crickets will spray blood (insect blood, which is hemolymph) from joints in their exoskeleton. The blood is pale lemon-yellow, has a pungent and unpleasant odor, and can be sprayed up to 6 cm away.
- The fifth line of defense. If all else fails and does not deter the predator, they will vomit. Armored crickets will regurgitate the food in their stomachs, coating their bodies with the vomit. This vomit has an unpleasant odor that may drive predators away.
The Fatal Flaw of the African Armored Cricket
Despite possessing 5 layered defense mechanisms—activated for different dangerous situations—one of these defenses can ultimately kill them. That is the fourth line of defense – Blood Spraying. This is a fatal flaw for the cricket when it just escapes from one danger only to encounter another.
As an omnivore (eating both meat and plants), when lacking salt and protein, armored crickets will resort to cannibalism.
African armored crickets are cannibals. When a cricket sprays blood to deter another predator, its blood-covered body then attracts significant attention from other armored crickets. These crickets think that the one that sprayed blood is injured and will attempt to eat it.
Armored crickets resort to cannibalism when they lack protein and salt in their diets, while other crickets provide a good source of these nutrients.
