Biological Control Grasshoppers have many natural enemies that help suppress populations. A fungus, Entomophthora grylli often causes locally high mortality. Infected grasshoppers strike a characteristic pose at the top of a plant or other object. The grasshopper grasps the plant in a death embrace with front and middle legs while the hind legs are extended. It dies in this position.
Fungal spores develop in and on the body of the infected grasshopper.
These spores become airborne and infect other grasshoppers. Under warm, humid conditions, great numbers of grasshoppers have been destroyed by this fungus. A protozoan, Nosema locustae , is normally present to some extent in grasshopper populations, but generally does not cause significant mortality. These baits kill some nymphs but virtually no adults. However, infected adults lay fewer eggs.