British scientists have discovered a new species of locust, a very rare locust that lives on green leaves in the dense forests of Uganda, dubbed ‘ Phlogis kibalensis’ .
This species is so rare that a similar locust was first seen in 1969.
The discovery, led by Dr Elon Helden of Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, UK, was made in a rainforest in western Uganda’s Kebali National Park, according to the research journal Zotexa .
These details show that this new type of locust looks like shiny metal with white spots prominent on the head and surrounding area.
It is much smaller than other locusts, about the same length as a normal housefly, only 6.5 mm. However, the structure of its legs and wings is clearly similar to that of locusts.
In addition to all these features, the main uniqueness of ‘Flujus Caballensis’ is its reproductive organs which, when viewed under a microscope, look like tiny leaves.
The same structure of the reproductive organs has been observed in other species of the locust ‘Flujus’ family.
The common diet of these locusts is sap, which they suck directly from their phloem.
Jungle spiders, whirlpools, wild moths and birds are also on the lookout for them and devouring these locusts as soon as the opportunity arises.
Dr. Elon says the locusts are now confined to a small area due to the brutal destruction of rainforests in Uganda. They also fear that other such rare species may have become extinct before they were discovered.