When Coloradans talk about grasshoppers, they really are talking about the grasshopper genus, Malanoplus . Several species of grasshoppers can be located in Colorado but ninety percent of the damage is caused grasshoppers in this one genus. Females of one species in this genus can lay up to 400 eggs in a single season.
Weather conditions have something to do with egg-laying.
With cooler and wetter weather, fewer eggs are produced. Some grasshoppers prefer one food source, such as corn or alfalfa, but when food is scarce they will eat a variety of plants, shrubs and even trees. Within 16 hours, a grasshopper will eat its own weight in green food. Seven grasshoppers per square yard over 10 acres will eat the same amount as one cow. Hairworms are long and whitish and cause sterility in females as they feed on body contents.