Females may lay up to 17 pods approximately 1-2 inches beneath the soil. The first nymph to hatch creates a tunnel leading to the soil surface that is used by the remaining nymphs when they hatch. The five major pest species are easily distinguished from one another. Red-legged grasshoppers are smaller than differential grasshoppers, and have red femurs on their hind legs. Alfalfa is a favored oviposition site for red-legged grasshoppers.
Differential grasshoppers are yellow in appearance and have a fishbone pattern on their hind femurs.
The differential grasshopper is a later season pest and more prominent in southern Minnesota. Two-striped grasshoppers are olive green with two yellow stripes on the dorsum. The migratory grasshopper resembles the red-legged grasshopper, but migratory grasshoppers have a black band behind the eyes. Finally, the clear-winged grasshopper is the smallest of the pest species in our region. Wings are colored with brown spots, contrasting the light tan body color.