Migratory grasshopper (Melanoplus sanguinipes)
| Melanoplus sanguinipes Migratory grasshopper | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Distribution | |
| Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia (U.S. state), Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Sonora, Chihuahua | |
| Taxonomy | |
| Family: | Acrididae |
| Subfamily: | Melanoplinae |
| Genus: | Melanoplus |
| Additional resources | |
| Full taxonomy at OSF | |
The migratory grasshopper (Melanoplus sanguinipes), is a widespread spur-throated grasshopper found across central and western North America. Closely related to the extinct Rocky Mountain locust, it is one of the most abundant and destructive grasshopper pests in the region. A generalist feeder, it thrives in disturbed or weedy habitats and can form migratory swarms during outbreaks. Its economic impact, along with other pest species, results in the annual treatment of millions of acres of rangeland and cropland.
Nomenclature
Melanoplus sanguinipes (Fabricius, 1798). For full nomenclature, see this taxon's page on Orthoptera Species File
There are three subspecies of Melanoplus sanguinipes: Melanoplus sanguinipes atlanis (Riley, 1875), Melanoplus sanguinipes defectus (Scudder, 1897) and Melanoplus sanguinipes sanguinipes (Fabricius, 1798).
Identification
The migratory grasshopper is the most widespread and well-known species of spur-throated grasshoppers, a dominant group in North American grasslands known for their abundance, activity, and diversity. Most North American spur-throated grasshoppers belong to the subfamily Melanoplinae, recognized by a spiny projection on the prosternum between the front legs, roughly where a throat would be. Melanoplinae is the most diverse grasshopper subfamily, with a remarkable variation in habitat use and diet. There are hundreds of species adapted to a wide range of environments—from arctic tundra to tropical forests, and from alpine meadows to deserts. It includes both flightless species confined to meadows and mountain peaks, and powerful long-distance fliers like M. sanguinipes and the now-extinct Rocky Mountain locust (Melanoplus spretus).[1]
Melanoplus sanguinipes displays notable variation in coloration and body proportions, including wing length. While it's best to identify melanopline grasshoppers using adult anatomical details, M. sanguinipes can also be recognized in both nymph and adult stages by the prominent stripe along the side of the head and thorax. Adults feature distinctive forewings that appear to have tiny rectangles in a grid-like pattern—shared with some other Melanoplus species.[1]
This species closely resembles several others, making identification challenging—especially in females. The most reliable way to distinguish it is by examining the males. A key identifying feature in males is the notched subgenital plate at the tip of the abdomen, a characteristic unique to M. sanguinipes among melanoplines. View a photo of it here on BugGuide.
M. sanguinipes can be differentiated from the similar Gladston grasshopper (Melanoplus gladstoni), which emerges later in the season, by its more slender build and typically less ashen coloration. The hind tibiae of M. sanguinipes are usually bright red, though they may also appear orange, blue, gray, white, or yellow[1] There may also be orange stripes on the outer part of the upper back legs, light spots on their large eyes, and a pale yellow crescent shape on the side of the face that reaches the back.[1]
Identification details
Melanoplus sanguinipes are gray-brown, yellowish-brown, or olive-green with a stripe that extends from the eye onto the lateral lobe of the pronotum.[2] At higher elevations, individuals tend to be darker—sometimes nearly black.[1] The tegmina are long, with a central row of dark rectangular spots.[3][4][2] The hind tibia appears as a dull grayish blue, blue-green, or red.[3][5][2] Other notable color patterns include orange stripes, which can be seen on the external surface of the hind femur; light spots on the compound eye; narrow pale yellow crescent on the gena extending onto the pronotal lobe to the principal sulcus.[6] They can be readily recognized by the structure of the cercus, which widens notably at its base and tapers bluntly towards the end, the distinctive notch on the subgenital plate, and bump on the mesosternum.[5]
| Instar | Color [5] [4] | Body length[5] | Hind femur[5] | Antennal segment number[5] | Description[5] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Egg pods | |||||
| Eggs | pale yellow or cream colored | 4.5 mm long | Eggs have a banana-like shape | ||
| 1 | Tan or gray, few light green | 4-6 mm | 2-2.9 mm | 12-13 | |
| 2 | Tan or gray, few light green | 6-8 mm | 3-4.3 mm | 15-17 | |
| 3 | Tan or gray, few light green | 8-11 mm | 5.5-6.1 mm | 18-20 | |
| 4 | Tan or gray, few light green | 11-16 mm | 7.6-8.6 mm | 21-22 | |
| 5 | Tan or gray, few light green. Stripes on head and shoulders and prominent bar on legs | 16-23 mm | 10-13 mm | 22-24 | |
| Adult males | dark gray, dark spots on forewings | 20-26 mm | 11-12.5 mm | 24-27 | |
| Adult females | dark gray, dark spots on forewings | 20-29 mm | 12.3-14 mm | 25-27 |
Featured identification resources
All identification resources
| Name | Year published | Resource link | Descriptive keyword | Language | Geographic purview | Author | Year published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Manual of the Grasshoppers of New Mexico | 1993 | Morphology, Biology, Life cycle, Natural history, Natural sciences, Behavior, Population dynamics, New Mexico, Management, estimation of grasshopper densities, insecticide, Biological control, New Mexico grasshoppers, Indigenous knowledge, History, county map distribution, Distribution, glossary, Species identification, annotated alphabetical list of New Mexico grasshoppers | English | New Mexico State University, New Mexico Cooperative Extension Service, D.B. Richman, D.C. Lightfoot, C.A. Sutherland, DJ. Ferguson | 1993 | ||
| ARS grasshopper species fact sheets | 1994 | Management, Species identification | English | Agricultural Research Services, United States Department of Agriculture | 1994 | ||
| Common Wyoming pest grasshoppers | Life cycle, Species identification, Biodiversity, Grasshoppers | English | University of Wyoming, Scott Schell, Alexandre Latchininsky, B.A. Shambaugh | ||||
| Community-wide grasshopper control | 2020 | insecticide, Spraying, Species identification, Nymphs, Grasshoppers | English | Utah State University, Marion Murray | 2020 | ||
| Field crop and forage pests and their natural enemies in Western Canada | 2018 | Agriculturist guide, Education, Infographic, Management, Species identification, Integrated pest management | English | Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada | 2018 | ||
| Field Guide to Common Western Grasshoppers | 2002 | Species identification | English | United States Department of Agriculture, Robert E. Pfadt | 2002 | ||
| Field guide to grasshoppers of economic importance in Nevada | glossary, Photos, Species identification, Biology, Life cycle, Behavior, Pesticides, Survey, Integrated pest management, Biological control, Culture, Chemical control, Mechanical control, Economics | English | University of Nevada | ||||
| Field guide to some of the common grasshoppers of the Front Range of Colorado | Agriculture, Behavior, Grasshoppers, Distribution, Species identification, Morphology, Photos, Biology, Overview | English | National Science Foundation | ||||
| Grasshoppers and their control | Species identification, Management, Monitoring, Biological control, Mechanical control, cultural control, Biology | English | Texas A&M University, Carl D. Patrick | ||||
| Grasshoppers of the Western United States | Management, Species identification | English | United States Department of Agriculture | ||||
| Grasshoppers their habits and damage | 1964 | Grasshoppers, Outbreaks, Natural enemies, Ecology, Habitat, Quality illustrations, Species identification | English | United States Department of Agriculture | 1964 | ||
| Hopper helper | Survey, Life cycle, Species identification, Integrated pest management | English | Wendal Cushing | ||||
| Insect answers | 1990 | Species identification, Rangeland management, Infestations, Management, Chemical control, Biological control, Survey, estimation of grasshopper densities, Control, insecticide, Biology, Livestock, Weather | English | Washington State University Extension, Daniel Suomi, Gary Thomasson, Dave Keim | 1990 | ||
| Montana.gov grasshopper field guides | Species identification, Management, Biology | English | |||||
| Orthoptera of Northern Great Plains | 2007 | Information hub, Species identification, Taxonomy, Map, Photos, Nymphs | English | North Dakota State University | 2007 | ||
| Orthoptera Species File | Species identification, Biology | English | Orthoptera Species File Online | ||||
| Pest grasshoppers in Oregon | 2024 | Species identification | English | Oregon Department of Agriculture, Thomas Valente, J. Buck Dunlap | 2024 | ||
| Pest Grasshoppers of the West | 2005 | Management, Species identification | English | University of Wyoming | 2005 | ||
| The grasshoppers of Nebraska | 2009 | Species identification, Map, glossary, grasshopper development, Grasshoppers, Biology, grasshopper anatomy | English | University of Nebraska, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Mathew L. Brust, Wyatt Hoback, Robert J. Wright | 2009 | ||
| The Grasshoppers of the Western U.S. Lucid mobile app | 2016 | Management, Species identification | English | APHIS PPQ Science & Technology Insect Management and Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory (Phoenix Station), United States Department of Agriculture, Center for Plant Health Science and Technology of the USDA, University of Nebraska, Chadron State College | 2016 | ||
| The Grasshoppers of the Western U.S. Lucid mobile app | 2016 | Management, Species identification | English | APHIS PPQ Science & Technology Insect Management and Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory (Phoenix Station), United States Department of Agriculture, Center for Plant Health Science and Technology of the USDA, University of Nebraska, Chadron State College | 2016 | ||
| Utah pests fact sheet | 2008 | Chemical control, Biological control, Ecology, Infestations, Habitat, Outbreaks, Species identification | English | Utah State University, Edward W. Evans, Erin W. Hodgson | 2008 |
Distribution
The migratory grasshopper is found in southern Canada and throughout the United States, especially abundant in the west.[2] For more information and distribution records see [GBIF]
Biology
Melanoplus sanguinipes is an early hatching species, with nymphs emerging between mid-May and mid-June, and adults present from mid-June through October or November.[7] also reported from August to October.[2] The earliest emerging adults have the greatest reproductive success because green plants are plentiful for feeding, and their eggs are laid when soil moisture is more favorable and have more time to develop before entering diapause. [5] Embryo development includes 27 stages, reaching 80% completion by stage 24 before entering diapause.[6] During diapause, embryos stay physiologically active, with nutrients cycling through the yolk, fat body, and tissues. Warmer winter soil temperatures (10–13°C or 50–55.5°F) can break diapause and resume development.[6]
Females undergo a 2–3 week preoviposition period to gain weight, mate, and develop 18–24 eggs. Males identify receptive females and perform a brief courtship before mating. About six days later, females lay eggs over the course of an hour and may mate multiple times during the season.[5] Eggs are laid in grasslands or croplands, with pods about 1 inch long, partly upright in the soil. In labs, females can produce up to 20 pods (around 400 eggs), though wild counts are likely lower.[5] Nymphs develop through 5–6 instars over 36–45 days at 25–39°C (77–102.2°F).[3] Females prefer soft, shaded soils in grassy areas that support egg dispersal and swarm formation.[5] Their development is strongly influenced by environmental conditions, particularly temperature.[3] In warm regions, two or three generations may occur annually. [2]
Habitat and Ecology
The migratory grasshopper is widespread across North America and thrives in a wide variety of habitats, including northern and southern mixed grass prairie, bunchgrass prairie, desert prairie, mountain meadows, annual grasslands, tallgrass prairies, meadows, weedy areas, stubble fields, and croplands.[6][3] It also commonly occupies disturbed sites such as roadsides, crop borders, and land reverting from agriculture. These grasshoppers favor patchy, weed-prone environments like overgrazed rangeland, abandoned croplands, and plowed sandy soils.[5][2] They are especially resilient and adaptable, with populations found from sea level to elevations as high as 8,800 feet.[7]
Under normal conditions, the migratory grasshopper inhabits grassland habitats in low numbers. However, they are capable of rapid population growth.[8] In optimal conditions, just three adults per square yard can reproduce exponentially, leading to outbreak densities of up to 30 adults per square yard in the following year. However, unfavorable weather and natural enemies usually limit population growth, maintaining densities between 0-9 nymphs and 0-3 adults per square yard.[5]
At high population densities, these grasshoppers become gregarious and exhibit swarming behavior. Bands of older nymphs (3-5th instars) may march 5-10 miles traveling at 0.1 miles. Adults are highly migratory and fly about 10-12 miles per hour and cover around thirty miles per day.[7]
Their feeding behavior is highly flexible. They are mixed feeders depending on local plant availability.[5] Common food sources include grasses and forbs such as dandelion, tumble mustard, wild mustard, pepperweed, western ragweed, downy brome, Kentucky bluegrass, barley, and wheat.[3] Hedge mustard is particularly associated with high egg productivity.[5] On the ground, they may also consume plant litter, cattle manure, bran flakes, and other materials in their habitat, though they avoid kochia.[5][4]
Generally, migratory grasshoppers consume young plants to ground level, or feed on the green areas of plant stems.[5] These grasshoppers consume plants along the edges of farmland or strips of plants along roads and fences, working their way toward the center of the field.[5]
Wild individuals show a stronger preference for carbohydrate-rich diets than lab-reared ones.[9] Their ingested nutrients closely matched their available food sources. However, M. sanguinipes showed lower performance metrics on high-carbohydrate diets, while balanced or protein-rich diets yielded higher performance metrics.[9] While this species can consume and thrive off of any plant, a mixed diet is important for full development.[3]
Land-Use Change
Certain landscapes influenced by humans are vulnerable to migratory grasshopper invasions. For example, plowed sandy soils, which create wind-blown drifts beneficial for oviposition, over-grazed rangeland, and abandoned cropland, both of which contribute to the growth of weeds, create optimal conditions for M. sanguinipies groups to thrive. They are often the dominant species on weedy depleted rangeland and in patchy, unpredictable landscapes. Less migratory behavior is exhibited in ecosystems with lush and stable environments.[5] During periods when grass-feeding species are spreading on healthy rangelands, migratory grasshoppers are found in the group at relatively low densities of 0.1 to 3 young adults per square yard. This differs from their usual dominant presence in areas with weedy and depleted rangelands, where they can reach densities of 20 to 60 or even more young adults per square yard. These higher densities deplete the available food, prompting the grasshoppers to fly off and migrate to more abundant areas.
Pest status
M. sanguinipes populations have caused more damage than any other grasshopper in US rangelands, destroying fields of essential crops.[9] They are one of the top dozen species monitored by USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) because of their impact on rangelands. This species invades rangeland and cropland and forms swarms that migrate in search of new lands with more abundant resources.[5] In the quest for food, small grains are most vulnerable to their consumption patterns. Early hatches of these grasshoppers infesting stubble or roadside landscapes will travel towards, consume, and destroy newly germinated seedlings of spring wheat.[5] Outbreaks caused by these hoppers were most destructive in the 1980s, 1970s, 1940s, and the 1930s. In some instances, like in northeastern South Dakota in 1938, densities reached staggering levels of 1,500 to 8,000 nymphs per square yard in various habitats. Recently, they have been ranked third or fourth in pest status.[4]
Montana has adopted a species ranking system to gauge and reflect the relative degree of risk to species viability, measured from populations in rangelands to the state level.[7] The migratory grasshopper has been classified as a G5 species, indicating that these grasshoppers are widespread, abundant, and not vulnerable in most of the range. However, they have not yet been ranked at a state level, and these grasshoppers may be rare in certain parts of the range.[7] The ability of M. sanguinipes to migrate between rangeland to croplands, and their mixed feeding behavior make it difficult to implement mitigation strategies effectively.[9] Management of this species is particularly challenging because populations that emerge in rangelands can then migrate to croplands miles away.
Sampling Methods:
Sweep net sampling method: High and fast sweep sampling for effectively obtaining highly active or adult grasshoppers. Low and slow sweeping motions for nymphs or slow moving species. However, both tactics should be combined to gather the best results. This method can be more cost-effective than other sampling methods such as quadrat sampling. [6] Reportedly, the best time to get samples of this species in Arizona is from February to March. [6]
Outbreaks
During 1937-1939 in South Dakota, there was a severe outbreak of mixed-grass prairie, where a migratory hopper swarm traveled from Highmore, South Dakota to the southwestern corner of Saskatchewan, Canada covering a total distance of 575 miles at an average pace of 66 miles per day over 4 days.
In British Columbia in 1944, a severe but unusual outbreak occurred in the bunchgrass prairie, resulting in the destruction of 70-80% of grasses on the open range.[5]
Outbreak media coverage
| Name | Year published | Resource link | Descriptive keyword | Language | Geographic purview | Author |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grasshopper and Mormon Cricket Outbreak Media | 2022 | Photos, Outbreaks, Grasshoppers, Mormon crickets | English | Oregon Department of Agriculture | ||
| Grasshopper watch | 2022 | Grasshoppers | English | Ag Proud |
Associated organizations
| Organization name | Acronym | Website | Type | Focus | Focus keywords | Geographic purview |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California Department of Food and Agriculture | CDFA | https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/ | Government | Management, Governance | Management, Grasshoppers, Control | California |
| Center of Excellence in Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management | CoEB | https://coebiodiversity.ur.ac.rw/ | University | Agricultural development, Community development, Research, Sustainable development, Technology, Training | ||
| Cooperative Extension Ventura County | https://ucanr.edu/county-office/cooperative-extension-ventura-county | Government | Education, Research, Monitoring, Management | Extension | California | |
| Global Locust Initiative | GLI | https://www.locust.asu.edu | University | Research, Education, Information Hub | Sustainable development, Ecology, Nutrition, Social science, Natural sciences, Agriculture, Agroecology, Biology, Behavior, Biological control, Climate change, Education, Sustainability science, Geometric framework, Grazing, Governance, Food security, Arts and humanities, Land use management, Landscape ecology, Locusts, Migration, Phase polyphenism, Phenotypic plasticity, Soil science | Arizona |
Resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Johnson DL (n.d.) Spur-throated grasshoppers of the Canadian Prairies and Northern Great Plains. Environmental Health, Agriculture and Agri‑Food Canada Research Centre, Lethbridge, AB & University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada. https://hopperwiki.org/images/8/84/Spur-throated_grasshopper_of_the_Canadian_Prairies_and_Northern_Great_Plains.pdf
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Capinera JL, Scott RD, Walker TJ (2005) Field guide to grasshoppers, katydids, and crickets of the United States. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, 280 pp.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 COPR (1982) The Locust and Grasshopper Agricultural Manual. London: Overseas Pest Research. 473-477.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Johnson D (2010) Grasshopper identification & control methods to protect crops and the environment. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Pest Management Centre. 1-44. https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.692754/publication.html
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 5.19 5.20 5.21 Pfadt RE (1994) Migratory Grasshopper Melanoplus sanguinipes (Fabricius). Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 912. Species Fact Sheet. https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/30320505/grasshopper/Extras/PDFs/Species%20Fact%20Sheets/Migrator.pdf
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Murray D (2016) The Biology, Ecology, and Management of the Migratory Grasshopper, Melanoplus sanguinipes (Fab.). Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects. Available from: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/entodistmasters/13.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Montana Field Guide (n.d.) Migratory Grasshopper - Melanoplus sanguinipes. Retrieved May 17, 2024, from https://FieldGuide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=IIORT01210
- ↑ Fielding JD and Brusven MA (1992) Food and Habitat Preferences of Melanoplus sanguinipes and Aulocara elliotti (Orthoptera: Acrididae) on Disturbed Rangeland in Southern Idaho. Journal of Economic Entomology. 85(3): 783-788
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Zembrzuski D, Woller DA, Jech L, Black LR, Reuter KC, Overson R, Cease A (2021) Establishing the nutritional landscape and macronutrient preferences of a major United States rangeland pest, Melanoplus sanguinipes, in field and lab populations. Journal of Orthoptera Research 30: 163–172. https://doi.org/10.3897/jor.30.61605