Hobbies And Interests
Diet
The migratory grasshopper is the species of grasshopper that incorporates fruit into its diet. Most other species, such as the clear winged, red-legged and the two striped, eat grains and grasses. However, grasshoppers are opportunists and will eat what is available in times of drought. Grasshoppers can become a major pest to farmers and gardeners, damaging and at times destroying entire fields of fruit-producing crops.
Gardens
Home gardens are full of fruit-producing plants that grasshoppers. While not all grasshopper species dine on the mature fruit of these plants, such as grapes, papaya, cantaloupe and other melons, they do eat the leaves of these plants, which can lead to the death of the plant. To divert grasshoppers from gardens, plant a ring of grasses and grains around the perimeter of your garden. Keep this barrier watered and it will attract grasshoppers and help to prevent them from making it to your garden.
Agricultural Fields
Agricultural crops are often preyed upon by large populations of grasshoppers. Grasshopper nymphs eat fruit seedlings, resulting in the fruit never being formed. While most grasshoppers eat mainly agriculturally grown grains, such as corn, soy, wheat, alfalfa and clover, other fruit crops, such as tomatoes, can be affected. Grasshoppers will not typically feed on the fruit of tomato plants, but they do enjoy the young, tender leaves if there is nothing else to eat nearby.
Orchards
The leaves of common orchard fruit trees are a particular favorite of the differential grasshopper and the red-legged grasshopper. Orchards can become heavily preyed upon in times of drought, since they are typically kept watered to ensure good fruit production. If grasshoppers strip the trees of too many leaves, they will not be able to produce flowers, and thus fruit. For this reason, grasshoppers can be a major pest species for orchard farmers.