Four subspecies are recognised :[1] The adult B. membranaceus has a plump brown body, a broad blunt head, long antennae and powerful legs.

Mating takes place in the male's burrow and the female may remain there till the eggs are laid, in a walled-off side tunnel.

When succulent young plant material becomes available in November, growth rates speed up, with adults emerging from December onwards.

[3] The diet is grasses, succulent parts of plants and the suckers of trees such as Brachystegia and Isoberlinia.

In cultivated areas, foodstuffs may include seedlings, transplanted plants, vegetables, tobacco, maize and field beans.