Ak Grasshopper

Poekilocerus pictus (Fabricius)

Orthoptera: Acrididae, Pyrogomorphinae

The normal host is Calotrope (Calotropis procera)

Other common names: rubber bush, apple of Sodom, mudar, madar, king's crown, roostertree

Asclepiadaceae or "Ak Family"

nr. Ujjain , Madhya Pradesh, India
May 14, 2005 (Dr. Dilip Amritphale)


ISPI database of literature on Poekilocerus pictus

(ISPI - International Society for Pest Information)


Calotropis procera Stamps

Kenya - Burkina Faso - Malawi

This milkweed is native from India to Iran and Africa, but like A. curassavica, is now a widely distributed "pan tropic weed"


09 Jul 2005 © Mike Quinn  mike.quinn@tpwd.state.tx.us / Texas Entomology 

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