Orthoptera - Life Cycle

Life Cycle

Orthopteroid species have a paurometabolous life cycle or incomplete metamorphosis. The use of sound is generally crucial in courtship, and most species have distinct songs. Most grasshoppers lay their eggs in the ground or on vegetation. The eggs hatch and the young nymphs resemble adults but lack wings and at this stage are often called hoppers. They may often also have a radically different coloration from the adults. Through successive moults the nymphs develop wings until their final moult into a mature adult with fully developed wings.

The number of moults varies between species; growth is also very variable and may take a few weeks to some months depending on food availability and weather conditions.