Grasshoppers, commonly known as "grasshoppers", belong to Orthoptera, including Tetrigoidea, Epilepidoidea and Acridoidea. There are more than 10000 species in the world and 1000 species in China, which are distributed in tropical and temperate grasslands and desert areas all over the world.

Locusts mainly include locusts and earthworms. There are three kinds of migratory locusts in China: Locusta migratoria manilensis, Locusta migratoria manilensis and Locusta migratoria manilensis. Among them, Locusta migratoria manilensis is the most widespread and serious pest in China, which mainly harms gramineous plants and is an agricultural pest.

Annual life history

Grasshoppers generally belong to facultative diapause insects, and most of them overwinter with eggs in oocysts in the soil. Only a few species such as Japanese yellow-ridged locust and short-legged spotted locust overwinter as adults. The number of generations of 1 year depends on the biological characteristics of species, annual effective accumulated temperature, food, light and the growth and development of various insect states in different regions.

For example, the Asian migratory locust has 1 generation in China. The distribution of Locusta migratoria manilensis in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and its north in China is 2 generations, while the high temperature and drought years in the Yangtze River and Huaihe River basins are 3 generations or incomplete 3 generations. 4 ~ 5 generations in South China. There are 1 generation in the Yangtze River and its north, and 2 generations in the south of the Yangtze River.

Adults and grasshoppers have the same feeding habits, both of which are phytophagous, and the supplementary nutrition in the adult stage is vigorous, accounting for more than 75% of the total food intake in a lifetime. They use chewing mouthparts to bite the leaves and buds of plants into notches and holes, and in severe cases, they will eat large areas of leaves and buds of plants, causing huge economic losses to agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry.