Melanoplus sanguinipes normally selects well-drained, light soil and sparse vegetation in cropped fields or idle farm land. It may also oviposit in drift soil, weedy pastures, brome, and roadside ditches. Most species show distinct food preferences but the economically important species are generally omnivorous. When very abundant, they may also attack trees and shrubs in orchards and nurseries, feeding on leaves, fruits and even bark. It also feeds on alfalfa and on lush weeds in ditches.
Grasshoppers have one generation per year in Canada.
Oviposition usually begins in late July and continues into the fall. The eggs are placed by the female in a cavity in the soil which is later covered, using the abdominal valves or the legs, depending on the species. Depending on species, the number of egg pods per female varies from 4-25. The newly-hatched grasshoppers are about 5 mm in length. The nymphs resemble the adults but have wing pads instead of wings.