Some Effects of Various Food Plants on Melanoplus mexicanus mexicanus (Sauss.) (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

Abstract

The long-held belief that grasshoppers are to a large extent omnivorous and, as Wolcott (1936) states, “like cows, feed on any kind of vegetation”, is slowly giving place to the view that they are much more restricted feeders. Their habit of nibbling at almost anything, particularly when they are present in large numbers, probably led to this erroneous concept. More recent work such as that of Rubtzov (1931), Criddle (1933), and Isely (1938, 1944, 1916) stresses the fact that many species of grasshopper confine their feeding to a group of related plants, and a few species to a single plant.