All grasshoppers begin their lives as eggs.
Yet eggs represent the least known stage of the grasshopper life cycle. They are laid in the soil of the habitat and develop hidden from the view of humans. Incubation of eggs begins immediately after females deposit them in the soil. In this stage the embryos of many rangeland species such as Aulocara elliotti and Camnula pellucida cease growth and begin a diapause . After 15 days the embryo has grown to Stage 24, having achieved 80 percent of its development.