Tale s from the Field, Sept 14, 2015
Grasshoppers
Leanne Pundt, Extension Educator,
Everyone is busy shipping and hopefully selling fall mums, so I will be brief. I occasionally
receive questions about grasshoppers, so I thought this might be interesting.
Grasshoppers
Figure 1: Grasshopper Feeding Damage to Ornamental Millet, Photo by L. Pundt
During this recent summer drought, grasshoppers may have been moving into your
container - grown annuals such as ornamental millet or container grown perennials. In the
fall, you will generally see adults feeding. Hot , dry summers and warm autumns tend to be
favorable to grasshoppers .
A female grasshopper lays an avera ge of 200 - 400 eggs per season. Female grasshoppers
deposit their eggs below the soil surface in pod -like structures consisting o f about 20 to
120 eggs that are cemented together. These eg g pods can survive the winter if the soil is
not disturbed. Eggs hatch into nymphs that becom e adults in approximately 40 to 60 days.
Eliminating tall grasses and weeds helps because the weeds ar e food sources for the young
nymphs.
Nosema locustae is a naturally occurring microbe that consists of spores that are mixed
with baits. The microbe which is a protozoan, or one celled animal, is used as a preventive
biological control against the nymphs . However, this product is not registered in CT. The se
baits also act too slowly to be used for immediate control.
Figure 2: Grasshopper Nymphs feeding on Container Perennials. Photo by L. Pundt (taken in late June)
For more : Grasshoppers: Life Cycle and Control Author: Stanton Gill, Extension Specialist,
University of Maryland Extension September 2013
Disclaimer for Fact S heets:
The information in this document is for educational purposes only. The recommendations contained are based on
the best available knowledge at the time of publication. Any reference to commercial products, trade or brand
nam es is for information only, and no endorsement or approval is intended. does not guarantee or
warrant the standard of any product referenced or imply approval of the product to the exclusion of others which
also may be available. The Univ ersity of Connecticut, , College of Agriculture, Health and
Natural Resources is an equal opportunity program provider and employer.
