Grasshoppers are Becoming More Common

Observation by Travis Dewey:

Never seen these growing up. Sightings are more and more common.

Jozef Slowik, entomologist with the UAF Cooperative Extension writes:

I showed it to Derek Sikes and he said it's a Melanoplus sp. There are 12 species which occur in the state so I can't be more specific but looking at what they have in the collection from the area it's likely Melanoplus borealis.

Grasshoppers are very susceptible to environmental conditions. They lay their eggs in the soil and there are critical times in their development which will result in few or many grasshoppers. Obviously, a few good years means more eggs and the potential for more grasshoppers. But a cold rain at the right time might doom the population. I don't think we have very good data on the distribution of grasshoppers in Alaska, just sort of a list right now. But that is the story with most insects in the state. I know at the Farm here in Palmer we have about a dozen species listed from the 1950's on and that's only because there was a staff entomologist at the time. And this year there have been a ton.

Comments from LEO Editors:

In his response, Jozef shared a document from the Colorado State University Cooperative Extension that describes the grasshopper life cycle. Grasshoppers prefer to lay their eggs in dry, undisturbed soil where they will overwinter and hatch in mid-to-late spring. When the eggs hatch, the small nymphs rely on the availability of tender foliage as food.

Warming temperatures along the Seward Peninsula may be supporting the young vegetation growth that grasshoppers feed on as they grow. According to the Alaska Climate Research Center, between 1949 and 2016, annual temperatures in the Nome area have increased an average of 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit. This year may have been a particularly good year for grasshoppers as temperatures in May were 8.9 degrees Fahrenheit above normal, while precipitation was measured at only 73% of normal.

Other LEO members have also commented on unusual grasshopper sightings in Western Alaska. Kendra Lee posted that a grasshoppers hadn't been observed in Teller before a child caught one in August of 2014. In 2019, Eric Alstrom also shared that grasshoppers aren't usually found around Saint Mary's. Erica Lujan