Taxonomy:
Common Name: Grasshopper
Scientific Name: Several Species
Distribution:
Importance:
- More than 100 grasshopper species are found in Nebraska, but only a few are of major importance to cropland.
- Four grasshopper species - the migratory, differential, twostriped, and redlegged - cause nearly all the damage to cultivated crops.
Identification:
Life Cycle:
- Most over winter as eggs.
- The female lays eggs in the soil.
- A frothy liquid that hardens to form a protective "pod" surrounds eggs.
- Egg pods are deposited in the upper few inches of undisturbed soil in grasslands, pastures, ditches, field borders, etc.
- Hatching occurs in the spring and timing is influenced by temperature.
- Nymphs start feeding immediately after hatching and usually feed on the same plants as adults.
- Grasshopper nymphs go through five stages or instars.
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- In most years, adult grasshoppers are present by late June and early July.
- They begin to lay eggs one to three weeks after reaching the adult stage and may live two to three months.
Host Range:
- Grasshoppers primarily damage wheat, alfalfa, soybeans, and corn.
- During outbreak years, they will feed and seriously damage almost any crop, tree, shrub, and home garden.
- Grasshoppers do not like dense canopies and are most likely to feed on field edges and along grass waterways.
Injury & Damage:
- Grasshoppers are defoliators, and may cause injury through loss of photosynthetic material.
- Grasshoppers can also cause direct crop losses by feeding on ripening grain.
Management:
- Tillage can destroy egg pods by direct mechanical damage and by exposing them to predators, parasites, and adverse weather conditions.
- Insecticides can be used but are most effective when used before grasshoppers enter the adults stage.
- Baits containing a small amount of insecticide can also be effective.
Notes:
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