Modelling the ecology of grasshopper (Orthoptera: Acrididae) pest species in the grasslands of western Canada

摘要

Most of the grasslands in the Prairie Ecozone of western Canada have been brought under cultivation, and only small remnants of native short‐grass prairie remain.Of the more than 90 known species, four have become well adapted to this fragmentation of grasslands and have been largely responsible for crop and vegetative losses and for costs of protection measures.In western Canada,fluctuations in grasshopper population density occur over broad geographical areas in response to weather.Localized infestations that appear to expand their distribution are often associated with a prolonged period of consecutive seasons with increasingly warm temperatures over successive years when reproduction and survival are optimum (Olfert and Weiss, 2006 ).As a result, bio‐climate modelling lends itself well to developing a better understanding of grasshopper ecology.This paper describes the impact of weather/climate on oviposition and embryonic development in predicting grasshopper phenology and abundance (i.e.risk).