Cattle Production Loss Due to Caelifera (Orthoptera) in the State of Texas

The purpose of this experiment is to calculate the cattle production loss created by grasshoppers in the state of Texas. Grasshoppers create a significant deficit in cattle feed yearly which thereby leads cattle production loss for ranchers. Our (The) study involves the use of two species of grasshoppers, Chorthippus parallelus (Brown pg.32) and Camnula pellucida(Helfer pg 108), a one hundred fifty acre plot, and seventy-two head of cattle. Specimens were collected off a portion of the acreage. An average overhead was estimated for the feed deficit. Crop loss was then calculated with environmental and entomological factors taken into account. The results of this experiment showed a much larger overhead than originally predicted and the staggering effects of Caelifera on small cow and calf operations. This study could be used to further research the annual cattle production deficit on larger cattle operations such as King Ranch or stocker calf operations all over Texas, which are dependent upon rangeland for grazing cattle. The estimated results indicate that the grasshoppers are eating 14,417.5 pounds of dry matter more than the cattle are per yea