[2] Note that the common names are characteristically misleading; the species is not closely related to true crickets and "katydids" which originally belonged to the unrelated subfamily Pseudophyllinae.

The mandibles, or main biting jaws, are powerful; they can inflict a painful nip and they permit the insect to feed on material such as tough herbage or carrion.

Another defense against predators is reflex bleeding (also called "autohaemorrhaging") in which the insects squirt haemolymph from pores in their exoskeleton, achieving a range of a few centimetres.

One source documented attacks on red-billed quelea nestlings and suggested that the insects might be able to detect the nests by auditory clues.

Research on the species suggests that autohaemorrhage is a precisely regulated defence response rather than an accidental consequence of being attacked.

[5] In Acanthoplus discoidalis, courtship and mating is a relatively slow process; it starts at sunset and usually is completed by sunrise.

[5] The male produces a large spermatophore that includes a sperm pouch and an attached spermatophylax, a portion of food that serves as a nuptial gift to the female.