I am not sure if this is the correct place to post this, but this grasshopper can decimate a plant in no time. The Lubber (Eastern) Grasshopper. I have found two species names for them, Romalea microptera
http://bugguide.net/node/view/... and Romalea gutta which seems to be a synonym. Their preferred diet consists of mostly strap leaf plants : Daylilies, Crinums, Irises, Gladiolas and Amaryllis. They will not only eat the leaves, but also chomp on flowers and bulbs. But, they have no problem dining out on other plants for a little variety
the female lays eggs in the ground just a short time after reaching adulthood and can lay 1 to 3 "pods" each containing 10 to 50 eggs. The young hatch out in early to mid-spring depending on soil temps. They start out about 1/4 of an inch long and can reach over 3 inches in length by adulthood. Exceptionally wet winters can help control how many eggs survive.
http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/crea...
We have used a variety of controls for them, but found that wasp spray works well on the new hatchlings and sometimes the adults, but we use the tried and true method of one on one destruction. They are slow moving, so on the ground we crush them...but it can sometimes take a couple attempts....on plants...pruners are effective to either kill or remove to the ground for method 1. Last season we had a bumper crop....we killed over 300 of them in our garden. After a really wet winter, we have only seen and destroyed perhaps 50 or sixty adults and about as many hatchlings
This one was merrily eating away at the Crinum asiaticum this morning
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this is the damage to the plant
This one was hiding in the leaves of a daylily
