Grasshopper breeding

[Rst_Cham]

My hoppers have been busy mating, here's a pic of female laying her egg case. I believe these are red legged, and that they require diapause. I haven't been able to find any info really online so I think I will just have to experiment unless anyone here has any advice?

 

[Rst_Cham]

She just finished and used her ovipositor to kind of fill in the hole a bit/bury the eggs. Fascinating, wish I could have gotten video of that!

 

[AGO]

Hey I can’t find grasshoppers in nyc. May I buy from you?

 

[Redman]

Very cool. I have been too concerned about introducing parasites to harvest wild hoppers and try this myself. I hope it works well for you!

 

[Rst_Cham]

Hey I can’t find grasshoppers in nyc. May I buy from you?

Unfortunately grasshoppers are considered a pest and are illegal to ship across state lines. I'm not sure I'll be successful breeding anyhow, I can't find info on how to hatch the eggs. Sorry!

 

[Rst_Cham]

Very cool. I have been too concerned about introducing parasites to harvest wild hoppers and try this myself. I hope it works well for you!

So they are wild caught, I'll be removing the eggs and trying to hatch in a separate enclosure away from adults after diapause period.

 

[snitz427]

Wow lucky! I have some hoppers that Im hoping mate... are you using vermiculite?

 

[snitz427]

I can see where diapause would make sense as the hopprrs and katydids usually emerge in May and hit maturity by late summer. I know @jamest0o0 is researching another species, he may have some info

 

[Redman]

So they are wild caught, I'll be removing the eggs and trying to hatch in a separate enclosure away from adults after diapause period.

Yeah, I thought about doing the same. But then there is the wife factor of "No, you do NOT need more bugs in this house!" that keeps me from it as well. LOL

 

[Rst_Cham]

Yeah, I thought about doing the same. But then there is the wife factor of "No, you do NOT need more bugs in this house!" that keeps me from it as well. LOL

Yeah, I get it. My husband and I have an understanding; he pretends not to notice how many bugs I'm bringing into the house, and I pretend not to notice how many unnecessary tools he's bringing into the garage.

 

[Rst_Cham]

Wow lucky! I have some hoppers that Im hoping mate... are you using vermiculite?

I'm actually using damp play sand. I tried dirt which they ignored. They seem to like to dig perfectly little holes that hold shape. Once I put in the damp sand container (5" deep) they started laying eggs right away. From what I've read, you let them develop a bit, and then out them into fridge for diapause. For how long in not sure, I'm going to play around with it. Then you pull them out of fridge, warm them up, and they finish developing, then hatch. We'll see.

 

[snitz427]

I'm actually using damp play sand. I tried dirt which they ignored. They seem to like to dig perfectly little holes that hold shape. Once I put in the damp sand container (5" deep) they started laying eggs right away. From what I've read, you let them develop a bit, and then out them into fridge for diapause. For how long in not sure, I'm going to play around with it. Then you pull them out of fridge, warm them up, and they finish developing, then hatch. We'll see.

Interesting, I'll have to try sand. They're ignoring the soil but its also hard to keep that moist without taking it out to mist it daily.

That's exactly what we do with silkworm eggs... they need to over winter. So a few days after they are laid, I put them in the fridge for 2-3 months. Once removed the silkworms hatch in a week or so. Winter temps in MD lasts for 3-4 months, so I think 3 months in the fridge should be enough time. If times and lighting replicates summer, supposedly, you can skip diapause, but why risk it?

 

[Rst_Cham]

Interesting, I'll have to try sand. They're ignoring the soil but its also hard to keep that moist without taking it out to mist it daily.

That's exactly what we do with silkworm eggs... they need to over winter. So a few days after they are laid, I put them in the fridge for 2-3 months. Once removed the silkworms hatch in a week or so. Winter temps in MD lasts for 3-4 months, so I think 3 months in the fridge should be enough time. If times and lighting replicates summer, supposedly, you can skip diapause, but why risk it?

I dug them up and have about 25 egg cases. I divided them out between 8 little containers, recovered them with damp sand, and will try different diapause times for each container to see if I can find a successful amount for diapause. I read diaupause can be shortened so the shortest time I'll be trying is 3 weeks.

 

[SauceGandhi]

I'm a little late here, but don't forget to incubate them before putting them in the fridge so that they can develop to the diapause stage first. Or, you can just break the diapause by dunking the eggs in mineral oil lol. Also, Melanoplus femurrubrum are perfectly legal to ship, just FYI. Good luck!

Edit: I'm pretty sure the shortening of the diapause experiment was done over many generations, so 3 weeks is way too short in my opinion, but let me know how it goes if you decide to follow through with it. I've only been breeding non-diapausing species for the past few years, so I'm definitely interested in your results. I only recently picked up 3 new species of large diapausing grasshoppers to work with.

 

[snitz427]

I'm a little late here, but don't forget to incubate them before putting them in the fridge so that they can develop to the diapause stage first. Or, you can just break the diapause by dunking the eggs in mineral oil lol. Also, Melanoplus femurrubrum are perfectly legal to ship, just FYI. Good luck!

Edit: I'm pretty sure the shortening of the diapause experiment was done over many generations, so 3 weeks is way too short in my opinion, but let me know how it goes if you decide to follow through with it. I've only been breeding non-diapausing species for the past few years, so I'm definitely interested in your results. I only recently picked up 3 new species of large diapausing grasshoppers to work with.

Do you mind sharing some info about your setup? What temps do you keep them at?

 

[SauceGandhi]

Do you mind sharing some info about your setup? What temps do you keep them at?

This is how I keep the breeders for all species. Cool side is ~80F, probably 90+ under the light.

 

[Rst_Cham]

I'm a little late here, but don't forget to incubate them before putting them in the fridge so that they can develop to the diapause stage first. Or, you can just break the diapause by dunking the eggs in mineral oil lol. Also, Melanoplus femurrubrum are perfectly legal to ship, just FYI. Good luck!

Edit: I'm pretty sure the shortening of the diapause experiment was done over many generations, so 3 weeks is way too short in my opinion, but let me know how it goes if you decide to follow through with it. I've only been breeding non-diapausing species for the past few years, so I'm definitely interested in your results. I only recently picked up 3 new species of large diapausing grasshoppers to work with.

thanks for the info. What species are non-diapausing? What temp do you incubate at? How long do you think I'd need to incubate before starting diapause? Thanks so much!

 

[SauceGandhi]

No problem.

What species are non-diapausing?

Schistocerca nitens, Schistocerca americana, Schistocerca damnifica, Trimerotropis pallidipennis, Chortophaga viridifasciata are the only ones in North America, as far as I know.

What temp do you incubate at?

~85F

How long do you think I'd need to incubate before starting diapause?

21 days minimum

 

[mkeBob]

Do a Google search of How to breed grasshoppers and all kinds pop up

 

[Rst_Cham]

No problem.

Schistocerca nitens, Schistocerca americana, Schistocerca damnifica, Trimerotropis pallidipennis, Chortophaga viridifasciata are the only ones in North America, as far as I know.

~85F

21 days minimum

Thank you so much! Very helpful