A Laboratory Study of Feeding Habits of Melanoplus differentialis in Maryland (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

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Abstract
Among the food plants offered to the differential grasshopper, Melanoplus differentialis (Thomas), Taraxacum officinale proved to be preferred. However, unlike many other forbivorous acridids, this grasshopper can also develop and reproduce by feeding on Gramineae only, although individuals reared exclusively on this diet were small. In addition to their normal green plant food, M. differentialis also feeds on entirely dried-up plants, even in the presence of fresh plants—an adaptation for survival during the hot, dry part of the year. The feeding habits of this grasshopper were greatly influenced, among other ecological factors, by its own behavior toward light and temperature, in addition to the physical features and orientation of the food plants themselves. Consequently, the plants actually used as food in nature may be very different from those the insect prefers. The mandibles of this species are typically of the forbivorous type, while the maxillae resemble those of Tetrix, the moss feeders. The ventral digestive caeca are always longer than the dorsal, and the proportions of anterior and posterior lobes of the caeca vary in different age groups. Other morphological variations in this organ also were noted. The mid-gut of adult M. differentialis was heavily infested by gregarines, which were seen in various stages of development in the alimentary canal. No detectable influence on the host was noticed; the host-parasite relationship is obscure.

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