Aularches miliaris facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Aularches miliaris |
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Pyrgomorphidae
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Aularches
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Aularches miliaris
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Aularches miliaris is a grasshopper found in south and southeast Asia. It is protected by powerful chemical defences, and its warning colour signals its foul taste.
When it is disturbed or grabbed, it makes a sharp rasping noise with its thoracic segments. Then, if its thorax is pinched, it gives off a toxic foam. It squirts a clear viscous mucus with unpleasant smell and a bitter taste, faintly alkaline, with many bubbles. This foam comes out as a strong jet from openings in the thorax, and more gently from other openings in the body (ten in total). The foam heaps up around the insect and partly covers it.
Colouring and behaviour
The head and thorax are dark green with a canary-yellow band on the side. The leathery front wings are green with many yellow spots; the legs are blue, with a yellow serrated pattern on the hind legs. The abdomen is black with bright red bands.
Like most noxious animals, it is very visible and slow-moving on vegetation. It pays to advertise, and it does not need to hide.
Images for kids
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A. miliaris in Kerala
