MELANOPLUS BIVITTATUS TWO-STRIPED GRASSHOPPER Embedded in clear epoxy resin |
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 CLICK FOR DOWNLOAD --------------------------------- Classification Phylum: Arthropoda Subphylum: Hexapods Class: Insects Order: Orthoptera Suborder: Caelifera Family: Acrididae Subfamily: Melanoplinae Genus: Melanoplus Species: M.Bivittatus |
MELANOPLUS BIVITTATUS Two-striped grasshopper
The two-striped grasshopper (Melanoplus bivittatus) is widespread throughout Canada and common throughout Alberta.
The adult grasshoppers are brownish or greenish with black or brown markings. They are approximately 26 to 40mm in length. They have 2 pale stripes extending back from the eyes to the tips of the forewings.
A solid longitudinal black stripe is evident on the hind legs. Immature grasshoppers are green to yellowish brown.
During the winter, eggs are laid in the soil and hatch by late April to early May. At optimal conditions, Melanoplus bivittatus will stop morphogenesis at around 21 days.
Once morphogenesis is stopped, the eggs go into a state of diapause, with development continuing again in spring. Once temperatures are warm enough the eggs start hatching.
Once hatching starts, the maximum rate of hatching occurs between the 10th and 13th day. At the end of development, a Melanoplus bivittatus individual will have gone through five instars.
The two-striped grasshopper prefers lush foliage such as many of the weed species found associated with marshes and roadside ditches. It has a wide range of host plants: grass, cereal crops and broad-leafed
crops like canola and the pulses, even safflower. Young two-stripe grasshoppers will feed on lentil flower and buds and can also can slow or kill young plants. Later grasshopper stages will clip lentil pods.
Occasionally, it may feed extensively on some of the trees commonly used as shelterbelts.
Melanoplus bivittatus participate in long hours of mating, with some copulation lasting up to 10 hours. The mating rituals of M.bivittatus are similar to that of red-legged grasshoppers (Melanoplus femurrubrum)
in that both species receive and obtain nuptial gifts, in this case spermatophores Spermatophores are provided during the entire copulation period, which tends to be dominated mostly by male activity.
Not only does long periods of copulation increase the likelihood of transferring genes, but time spent in copola can be very productive for sperm and nutrient transfer.
Once the females have mated with a male they can delay mating for up to 21 days. Females will often refrain from rejecting males due to the benefits gained from the protein and fitness from eating the spermatophore. |
