A Laboratory Study of Oviposition Site Preferences in the Lubber Grasshopper, Romalea guttata (Houttuyn)

In the laboratory, female lubber grasshoppers, Romalea guttata (Houttuyn) (Orthoptera: Romaleidae), aggregate when ovipositing. We examined the stimuli that mediated site selection and group oviposition in a series of two-choice trials. Females preferentially oviposited in sand containing egg pods, suggesting that egg pods release attractive or arresting pheromones. Females also preferred to oviposit near tethered live conspecifics, paper decoys, sticks, and near images of grasshoppers taped to the walls of the test container. These results suggest that visual, and possibly chemical and tactile stimuli influence oviposition site preference in this grasshopper.