Eumastacidae

Here is a grasshopper of the Family Eumastacidea (Monkey Grasshoppers). In Laos, it is a fairly common pest of fruit trees. I suspect its range is quite broad, as I have scene specimens from as far away as Russia. This is often quite typical of generalist insect pests. Given the nature of modern agriculture, particularly the wideapread use of a quite limited range of food-plants which are grown all over the world, cosmopolitan pests (pests which are widespread throughout many countries) are very common.

This grasshopper is somewhat of a nuisance, but its colouration is quite beautiful.