We met this guy sitting on a Bauhinia shrub alongside our chalet in the Kruger National park. At first I was puzzled as coming from Natal and now living in the Cape I had only seen brown locusts, so I thought this may be a juvenile.
On further research and from the field guide to insects of South Africa I discovered that in fact it was a different locust altogether, this was a green tree locust or technically known as Cyrtacanthacris aeruginosa (Afrikaans name Bosspringkaan). Its habitat is shrubby vegetation and long grass. It is considered a minor pest of vegetables and tobacco and a nuisance in gardens.
Must say he is a rather good looking locust.