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July 9, 2025 - Fields Under Frenzy

Grasshoppers and the threat to agriculture.

Each year, grasshoppers pose a significant threat to agriculture, especially in arid and semi-arid regions where their populations can explode under the right conditions. These seemingly harmless insects can form large swarms that sweep across farmlands, devouring crops and leaving devastation in their wake. From cereals and vegetables, to pasturelands, no green field is safe once a grasshopper infestation takes hold. For many farmers, this destruction translates into severe economic losses, food insecurity and long-term ecological imbalance. As climate change and shifting weather patterns create more favourable breeding grounds for grasshoppers, understanding and addressing this growing problem is critical. 

While you may wonder what harm these little springy creatures can cause – it is not the damage one causes on its own, but high numbers that result in destruction. Grasshoppers’ main food source is leaves. The grasshoppers will feast on the leaves of the plants resulting in plant defoliation. Once the plant loses its leaves, it loses the ability to photosynthesize and produce energy, leading to stunted growth, reduced yields and eventually plant death. 

In pulse crops, the grasshoppers feed on the pods causing them to become clipped resulting in premature shattering and seed loss. Not only does this affect the plants’ mortality, but it also decreases the yield which producers heavily rely on. In cereal crops, stems can become severed – once again resulting in plant death and lower yields. Unfortunately, the damage does not end here. When the plant is in a high state of vulnerability, whether the internal stem or seed pod is directly exposed, it becomes an open door for other pests to attack. 

The life cycle of grasshoppers is majorly impacted by weather conditions. Warm days of the previous spring and summer determine how quickly the parents of the following years grasshoppers develop and begin to lay eggs. Varying temperatures into the fall months are limiting factors of successful egg laying and therefore directly correlate with the number of eggs that are laid and viable to hatch for next season. These temperatures also influence the time of hatching for the following spring. Due to the insulating factors of soil and the hardiness of the eggs, winter temperatures have been seen to have minimal effect on egg survival. 

A critical factor in the degree of damage caused by grasshoppers is the amount of rainfall. Under hot dry conditions, a small grasshopper population can do as much damage as a large grasshopper population could under cold, wet conditions. Lack of rainfall in the spring and previous fall can slow the development of the eggs, especially right before they hatch. 

Luckily, like most pests, they’re never at the top of the food chain. The grasshopper eggs are susceptible to being eaten by ground beetles, crickets and other soil dwelling creatures. Of course, being small sized, the nymphs and adults are great prey for birds, rodents, coyotes, snakes, frogs and other larger predators. 

Municipalities all over the province will begin grasshopper counts later in the month and into August. Sweeps are conducted on crop edges and quadrant counts are executed in roadside ditches in each agriculturally productive township. The data from these sweeps and counts are handed over to the province for study and evaluation of economic thresholds. These thresholds denote when the population of grasshoppers is becoming to the point of economic damage and require a solution.