AnimalsDesert
Desert locust Fun facts for kids
Schistocerca gregaria
The desert locust lives in deserts in Africa and Asia and eats almost any green plant.
- Where it lives
- in deserts in Africa and Asia
- What it eats
- almost any green plant
- How big it is
- about as long as a finger
Fun facts about the desert locust
The ones Sammy likes best. She tells them in the game, too.
A desert locust hears with ears on the sides of its tummy, not on its head!
Once, a huge swarm of desert locusts flew all the way across the ocean from Africa to islands in the Caribbean.
When lots of shy desert locusts get squashed together and bump legs, they change and start moving in giant swarms.
When they join a swarm, desert locusts change colour from green or brown to yellow and black, or even pink!
Every day, a desert locust eats as much fresh plant food as its whole body weighs.
A big patch of a locust swarm can eat as much food in one day as a whole town full of people.
Baby locusts can't fly yet, so they march across the ground together in huge bands.
Riding the wind, a locust swarm can travel more than 100 kilometres in a single day.
Riddle
Can a friend guess it?
Read the clues to someone, one at a time, without saying the animal. How many clues do they need? Fewer is better, just like in the game.
I live in hot, dry deserts in Africa and Asia, and I eat almost any green plant.
I hear with ears on the sides of my tummy, not on my head.
When we're crowded, I turn from green or brown to yellow and black, or even pink.
Once, a giant cloud of us flew across the whole ocean from Africa to the Caribbean.
I jump on long back legs, and my giant swarms can gobble up a farmer's crops.
Sammy might be thinking of a desert locust.
In Thought Zoo, Sammy picks an animal and you ask her yes-or-no questions to find it. You'll find the desert locust in the Desert adventure.
Play the DesertComing to iPad, iPhone and Android on 12 January 2027
