grasshopper - Aidemona azteca

Thank you, both!

Is it known where this species would normally lay eggs (in soil?).
Any idea what the foam secretion is? It seems like such a construct would be used by species who would hang their eggs from a surface, but I can't think of any besides some Neuroptera.

… dvoribird, 27 March, 2020 - 4:50pm

I would assume in soil...

where the foam would surround the eggs (like a praying mantis egg case) which is the case for most grasshoppers. Unfortunately in captivity many female grasshoppers will just splatter their eggs in random places like this (in my experience at least).

… metrioptera, 27 March, 2020 - 5:03pm

Thank you!

There is a dish of soil and a vermiculite substrate for the crickets, but I'm not sure if she found the soil or tried to use it. I thought it would be cool to raise some from eggs.
Do you have any idea what kind of diet she would prefer? Right now she only has what my crickets have: organic romaine, organic apples, fish flakes, fluker's thirst quencher, water.

… dvoribird, 27 March, 2020 - 5:52pm

not sure

I've never tried to keep this species so I don't know that much about them. I would guess that she could lay eggs in that substrate as it seems to work well for many orthopterans that oviposit in soil. I'd also guess that she'd eat lettuce as will many hoppers?

David Ferguson's comments on the info page: "I couldn't associate them with any particular single host plant, but the nymphs do seem to be partial to flowers"

… metrioptera, 28 March, 2020 - 8:42am

Thanks!

So far she's alive! She hangs out on the terrarium top upside down. If she laid any more eggs, I don't see them, but I'm not going to dig around.

Can we assume that Orthoptera will only lay eggs if they have already mated? (I brought her inside as a full adult, and she never detailed her love life to me.)

… dvoribird, 28 March, 2020 - 8:47pm

Moved

Those are definitely eggs laid by that hopper. I'd guess that they fell to the bottom and the crickets ate them.

Moved from ID Request.

… metrioptera, 27 March, 2020 - 4:38pm

Aidemona azteca

Yes those are eggs. They could have fallen off and been eaten on the ground. Or she could have eaten them. Orthops are very opportunistic when it comes to protein.

… Tyler Hedlund, 27 March, 2020 - 4:03pm

USDA

T Hedlund:
I see that you work with USDA APHIS. I found this interesting aphid who travelled from California to Texas on organic romaine lettuce that I purchased at Sprouts to feed to my handraised Gryllidae.
I think it's Epameibaphis, and there's no Texas record yet - just thought it was interesting.

… dvoribird, 27 March, 2020 - 4:56pm

That is interesting

Quite the traveler! Actually, another APHIS member is on here and works with aphids, so I'm sure she'll see your post soon.

… Tyler Hedlund, 28 March, 2020 - 2:36pm