Recent cold weather in the West won’t reduce spring grasshopper
hatchings.
Entomologists say that high populations of grasshoppers can still be
expected this summer.
Dan Johnson of Agriculture Canada in Lethbridge said grasshoppers lay
their eggs in soil two to five centimetres deep and the eggs can
survive temperatures down to Ð10 C, so the cold has likely not affected
the embryonic insects.
So far, soil temperatures have ranged from Ð4 to Ð7 in southern Alberta
and Saskatchewan. Now snow has fallen over much of the area, providing
an insulating blanket that will keep temperatures from dropping much
further.
Spring melting won’t provide any control either because the eggs have a
waxy coating that protects them from moisture.
“(The embryo) will start to grow again when the soil reaches 15 degrees
… hatching commences about May 25,” said Johnson.
It’s the same for overwintering flea beetles, cabbage seedpod weevils,
and other pests that use the soil to survive the winter, said Johnson.
