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Title: SCAVENGING GRASSHOPPERS FEED ON GRASSHOPPER CADAVERS INFECTED WITH MELANOPLUS SANGUINIPES ENTOMOPOXVIRUS AND NOSEMA LOCUSTAE

Author
item O'NEILL, KEVIN - MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY
item Streett, Douglas
item WOODS, STEPHEN - UNIVERSITY OF MAINE

Submitted to: Journal of Invertebrate Pathology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/21/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Grasshopper cadavers are an important source of food for grasshoppers. When eaten, grasshopper cadavers can transmit a disease to other grasshoppers. Grasshoppers cannot distinguish between infected and non- infected grasshopper cadavers. These studies will allow us to understand the dynamics of disease transmission in grasshopper populations. This will have a profound impact on selecting biological control agents for suppressing grasshopper populations.

Technical Abstract: A potential means for horizontal pathogen transmission within or between grasshopper species is the scavenging of dead grasshoppers. We observed the responses of grasshoppers to infected and non-infected grasshopper cadavers at sites in southwestern Montana. Grasshopper cadavers were infected with either Nosema locustae or the Melanoplus sanguinipes (MsEPV) virus. The consumption index for infected and non-infected grasshopper cadavers were not significantly different. In one case, grasshopper cadavers infected with MsEPV actually had a significantly higher consumption index. Three grasshopper species, Aulocara elliotti, Melanoplus packardii, and M. sanguinipes were the principal scavenging species. Secondly, a substantial proportion of partially scavenged MsEPV infected grasshopper cadavers contained sufficient material after remaining 0.5 h in the field to infect laboratory-reared grasshoppers. This suggested that scavenging may prove to be an important mode of horizontal transmission.