Grasshoppers

[Caustic Burno]

I remember someone telling me that grasshoppers lay their eggs in bare soil. Also that they prefer lower quality and or mature plants. That makes sense. We see more grass hoppers where our pasture is thinner. We don't have many were the grass is thicker and ground is always covered. Don't have much trouble with them in the irrigated pastures either.


Does that sound correct?

Depends on the species.
Lubers act like what you described. Carolinas are more like the plague. I have watched families of Mississippi Kites working them over in the hayfields in front of the cutter.

 

[Dave]

I remember someone telling me that grasshoppers lay their eggs in bare soil. Also that they prefer lower quality and or mature plants. That makes sense. We see more grass hoppers where our pasture is thinner. We don't have many were the grass is thicker and ground is always covered. Don't have much trouble with them in the irrigated pastures either.


Does that sound correct?

At B's on one side of the road he winters cows and there is no irrigation so not much grows. The other side of the road is in alfalfa under pivots. Last year it was a steady flow of grass hoppers headed toward the alfalfa. Enough so that I told him I was going to have to put it in 4 wheel drive to keep from sliding off the road. One day about a thousand blackbirds showed up. A week later there wasn't very many grass hoppers.