Observations on the Reproductive Potential of Melanoplus bilituratus (Wlk.) (Orthoptera: Acrididae) Reared on Different Food Plants in the Laboratory

Abstract

The fecundity of the migratory grasshopper, Melanoplus bilituratus (Wlk.), when reared under a variety of conditions, has been reported by a number of authors. In the laboratory, Barnes (1955), rearing cultures of the subspecies found in Arizona on five separate foods, obtained an average production of 8.8 egg-pods per female from those fed the most favourable diet; Parker (1930) reported an average production of 8.8 egg-pods per female from Montana specimens reared on a mixed diet; one of these females laid 15 egg-pods. Under field conditions, Pfadt (1949) in Wyoming and Smith et al. (1952) in Manitoba reared this species on a variety of food plants and reported that the greatest numbers of egg-pods per female resulting from use of the most favourable food plants were 9.8 and about 6 egg-pods, respectively.