Just after hatching, nymphs are quite vulnerable to adverse weather conditions. Grasshopper nymphs go through five larval instars. After each instar they shed their cuticle and grow larger. Grasshopper nymphs develop to the adult stage in six to eight weeks. Only adult grasshoppers have wings and readily move out of hatching areas.
Hoppers begin egg laying one to three weeks after reaching the adult stage.
They may live two to three months, depending on the late summer and early fall weather. All grasshopper developmental stages are influenced by weather, and their growth can be advanced or retarded by favorable or unfavorable weather. Most grasshoppers lay their eggs in untilled soil. Therefore, to infest a crop, grasshoppers have to migrate from field margins or other areas of untilled soil. The exception is the lesser migratory which may deposit eggs throughout a field, particularly alfalfa.