Sprayers have been making rounds these last two weeks, and many tanks have been filled with the intention to eliminate grasshoppers and the damage they leave behind to Saskatchewan crops.  

If last year, the province saw a surge in grasshoppers and it seems we are already seeing them in our fields this summer. Dr. James Tansey, Provincial Pest Management Specialist for the Ministry of Agriculture explains, “Unfortunately, last year was an excellent year for grasshopper egg-laying. We had a really long warm summer and the temperature really speeds them along in their development, so they reach adulthood quicker. The girls are ready to lay eggs quicker and there were large numbers of them, so egg-laying conditions were absolutely excellent for the four main pest species.” 

For many, when we see multiple grasshoppers, we lump them into the pest category, but that isn’t accurate. “Not all grasshoppers are pests, we’ve got about eighty-five species in the Prairies and only about four to five of these are typically pests. Typically, in Saskatchewan, there are four of them, and of these, two to three of these are our primary pests. These include the two-stripe grasshopper, which tends to like things a little bit lusher, both conditions-wise and host plant-wise, but it will feed on cereals. We’ve also got the lesser migratory grasshopper which tends to like it a little more dryer and it's got a really broad host range, there is very little it won’t eat including other dead insects when push comes to shove. In addition, we have the clearwing grasshopper that tends to prefer grasses, so cereals,” explains Tansey. 

Local farmers are out now spraying, attempting to lessen the population of grasshoppers into this growing season as more reports of early damage are shared. “We are getting lots of reports of nymphs coming up, they overwinter as eggs. The eggs are laid and develop to a certain point in the soil in their underground chambers. Once the cold weather comes, then the development stops and once it warms up then the development continues and they hatch from there. We are seeing some pretty significant reports of damage associated with nymphs and some spray going down for nymphs.  Typically, third instar, so we’re starting to get into that nearly centimeter long, so they are still small animals, they have a long way to grow. As they get bigger, the damage will continue to accumulate and growers need to watch out for these,” shares Tansey. 

In the southeast corner of the province, we have seen significant rain in the last few weeks which does impact the population says Tansey, “Moist conditions can absolutely have an effect on these animals both through direct drowning of nymphs with heavy rain events, but primarily the human conditions contribute to outbreaks in their populations of bacterial and fungal infections. Fungal infections can be really important for regulating their populations. More moisture can have a reducing effect on their populations, of course, if it dries out that will do the grasshoppers a favor.” 

As farmers continue to monitor grasshopper damage in their crops, Tansey suggests being proactive, “The Ministry leans heavily on the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation to conduct a survey of grasshoppers annually, and we use this to get an estimate of the contribution of that particular year’s grasshopper population to the following year. Last year’s survey did indicate some significant hot spots, particularly in the southwest, although there were clusters throughout the province. We weren’t quite at the outbreak stage last year, but we’re still holding our breath for this year. If people can go to the Ministry website, we will have good information on grasshopper identification as well as a link to the forecast map. An important consideration with any of these forecast maps is there is no replacement for actually getting out into your field and seeing what’s happening. These maps just give an idea of local prevalence and local pressure. Things can vary from field to field, what’s happening in your neighbor's fields may not necessarily be what’s happening in yours, so no replacement for getting out there.