U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Livestock and Range Research Laboratory: Miles City, MT
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    Careers


        


                    Public Notice
                        Recent Notices
                                    2024 School Tours
                    2024 Research Animal Sale On-line AuctionSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Plains Area Miles City, Montana Livestock and Range Research Laboratory Research Publications at this Location





- ARS National Programs
- Search for a scientific manuscript
- Search for a research project
- ARS Software
- Programs and Projects
- Collaborations
- Subjects of Investigation
- Publications
- IACUC Executive Summaries

Title:   Author  item
                                            Vermeire, Lanceitem
                                            Mitchell, Robert

                                                         - *Rob*item
                                            FUHLENDORF, SAMUEL - OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVitem
                                            WESTER, DAVID - TEXAS TECH UNIV
  Submitted to: Journal of Range Management
                                    Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 3/15/2003
                                    Publication  Date: 1/4/2004
                                    Citation: Vermeire, L.T., Mitchell, R., Fuhlendorf, S.D., Wester, D.B. 2004. Selective control of rangeland grasshoppers with prescribed fire. Journal Of Range Management v. 57. p. 29-33.Interpretive Summary: A few species of grasshoppers are included among the most damaging rangeland pests, but most species provide important nutrition to many wildlife species and rarely cause measurable damage.  Insecticides often control non-target species as well as pest grasshoppers and may have indirect effects on wildlife populations.  We used fall and spring prescribed fire to evaluate the effects of prescribed burning on grasshopper abundance and biomass and to determine if species could be selectively controlled.  Fire treatments had no effects on the total abundance or biomass of grasshoppers across species.  Fire effects on the 4 most common species were variable and could be explained by the biology of the insects.  Melanoplus bowditchi and M. flavidus were unaffected by fire treatment.  Hesperotettix viridis is sensitive to damage to its host plants and was reduced by 88% with fire in either season.  Fall burns reduced Ageneotettix deorum abundance by 65% because the species' eggs are laid near the soil surface and exposed to the heat of passing fire.  Fire prescriptions can be written to target species-specific vulnerabilities and control pest grasshoppers while maintaining the food base for grasshopper predators.
                                Technical Abstract: Grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae) are considered among the most damaging rangeland pests, but are necessary for the survival of many wildlife species.  Most grasshoppers are innocuous, but control with insecticides is non-discriminatory among species.  The objectives were to evaluate the effects of prescribed burning on the abundance and biomass of grasshoppers and to determine if species could be selectively controlled with prescribed fire.  Twenty-four, 4-ha sites were selected in a sand sagebrush-mixed prairie near Woodward, Okla. and blocked by pasture.  Plots were randomly assigned fall-, spring-, or non-burned treatments within block with 4 replications per treatment for each of 2 years.  Grasshopper biomass and abundance were sampled in late July and early August by sweeping with canvas beating nets.  Specimens were weighed to the nearest 0.1 mg and identified to species.  Fire treatments had no effects on the total abundance or biomass of grasshoppers across species, with about 10 grasshoppers weighing 4,090 mg per 150 sweeps.  Fire effects on the 4 most common species were variable and could be explained by the biology of the insects.  Melanoplus bowditchi and M. flavidus were unaffected by fire treatment.  Hesperotettix viridis is sensitive to damage to its host plants and was reduced about 88% by fire in either season.  Fall burns reduced Ageneotettix deorum abundance by 65% because the species' eggs are laid near the soil surface and exposed to the heat of passing fire.  Fire prescriptions can be written to target species-specific vulnerabilities and control pest grasshoppers while maintaining the food base for grasshopper predators.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov