Longterm Grasshopper Management

Scout egg laying
and hatching
areas Fall and
early Spring to
identify each
season’s
application sites.
Strategies for long term
grasshopper suppression
The grasshopper life-cycle is
interrupted in several ways by timely
Nolo Bait™ application
Infection weakens and kills these
grasshoppers and spreads through the
population, infecting later hatches
and migrating grasshoppers.
Early application and
ingestion of Nolo Bait™
by 2nd and 3rd instar
hoppers will reduce
feeding and result in less
damage to vegetation.
Grasshoppers molt 5 or 6 times
from 1st instar to adult. Disease
causes deformities and death and
increases cannibalism.
Many infected grasshoppers will die
and/or be consumed before
reaching adulthood. Egg
production will be greatly reduced
and many surviving eggs will be
infected.
Lifecycle of Nosema (Antonospora) locustae
M&R Durango Insectary
Insectary grasshopper rearing room
Grasshoppers feeding on Nolo Bait™
Setting up a plan
• Look at grasshopper forecasts
• Scout hatching sites
• Plan initial and potential follow up applications
– Field margins
– Swath Strips
– Roadsides
• Application equipment
– Aerial application
– Spreader on a 4-wheeler
• Cultural controls
– Disruption of egg pods thru tilling in fall or spring
Scout hatching
areas now to
identify next
season’s
application sites.
Setting the stage for long-term
grasshopper suppression
The grasshopper life-cycle is
interrupted in several ways by timely
Nolo Bait™ application
Infection weakens and kills these
grasshoppers and spreads through the
population, infecting later hatches
and migrating grasshoppers.
Early application and
ingestion of Nolo Bait™
by 2nd and 3rd instar
hoppers will reduce
feeding and results in
less damage to
vegetation.
Grasshoppers molt 5 or 6 times
from 1st instar to adult. Disease
causes deformities and death and
increases cannibalism.
Many infected grasshoppers will die
and/or be consumed before
reaching adulthood. Egg
production will be greatly reduced
and many surviving eggs will be
infected.
Look for these symptoms
• Lethargy
• Lack of appetite
• Inability to maintain equilibrium when
hopping or moving about
• Discolored eyes
• Swollen, discolored abdomen (whitish)
• Reluctance to jump
• Falling over to the side upon landing
Healthy M. differentialis in rear and
Nosema infected M. differentialis in front
Expectations
• Lack of toxicity to the environment,
humans, animals, plants
• Reduced survival of hatchlings
• Reduction in foraging and egg laying
• Long term persistence
• Compatible with organic and conventional
farming practices
References Cited
D.A. Streett; Grasshoppers: Their Biology, Identification and
Management Section 1.2 Nosema locustae
Ewen, A. B.; Mukerji, M. K. 1980. Evaluation of Nosema locustae
(Microsporidia) as a control agent of grasshopper populations in
Saskatchewan. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology 35: 295–303.
Lange, Carlos E. 2005 The host and geographical rance of the
grasshopper pathogen Paranosema (Nosema) locustae revisited. Journal
Of Orthoptera Research 2005. 14(2): 137-141
Lockwood, J. A. 1988. Cannibalism in rangeland grasshoppers
(Orthoptera: Acrididae): attraction to cadavers. Journal of the Kansas
Entomological Society 61: 379–387.
Johnson, D. L. 1986. Reduction of consumption by grasshoppers
(Orthoptera: Acrididiae) infected with Nosema locustae Canning
(Microsporidia: Nosematidae). Journal of Invertebrate Pahtology 48: 232238
Johnson, D. L. 1989 The effects of timing and frequency of application of
Nosema locustae (Microspora: Microsporida) on the infection rate and
activity of grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae). Journal of Invertebrate
Pathology 54: 353-362
Johnson, D. L., and Dolinski, M.G. 1997. Attempts to increase the
incidence and severity of infection of grasshoppers with the
entomopathogen Nosema locustae (Microsporida: Nosematidea) by
repeated field application. Memoirs of the Entomological Society of
Canada 171: 391-400
Powell, L.R., Berg, A.A., Johnson, D.L. and Warland, J.S. 2007.
Relationships of pest grasshopper populations in Alberta, Canada to soil
moisture and climate variables. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 144:
73-84
S.K. Raina, S. Das, M.M. Rai, and A.M. Khurad 1995. Transovarial
transmission of Nosema locustae (Microsporidia; Nosematidae) in the
migratory locust Locusta migratoria migratorioides Journal: Parasitology
Research Vol.81, Number 1: pages 38-44
Persistence of Paranosema (Nosema) locustae
(Microsporidia: Nosematidae) among grasshopper
(Orthoptera: Acrididae) populations in the Inner
Mongolia Rangeland, China
Wang-Peng Shi Æ Yan-Yan Wang Æ Fen Lv Æ
Cheng Guo Æ Xu Cheng
Received: 22 January 2007 / Accepted: 18 February 2008 / Published
online: 4 March 2008_ International Organization for Biological Control
(IOBC) 2008