Spiky Grouse Grasshopper

Image: Bernard DUPONT
Discotettix belzebuth

Ouch!

Just looking at this thing hurts!

Image: Bernard DUPONT

The Spiky Grouse Grasshopper is covered in so many beefy spikes and such thick armour I would hardly be surprised if it popped tyres by lying in the road and letting cars drive right over it.

There's not much information to be found about these guys, but they probably don't do that.

Image: Bernard DUPONT

Spiky Grouse Grasshoppers come from the forests of Malaysia.

I'm guessing they live on the forest floor, where their craggy, rusty, weather-beaten appearance would afford them some camouflage among the leaf litter.

Image: Bernard DUPONT

Despite being built like a tank that got left out in the rain a few too many decades, these grasshoppers are actually very small. They belong to the Tetrigidae family, also known as Grouse or Pygmy Grasshoppers. They reach less than 2 cm (0.8 in) long!

I still wouldn't step on one, though. Looks like you could get tetanus and all sorts. The fact that their Latin name, Discotettix belzebuth, is almost "Discotheque beelzebub" doesn't help either.