The Effects of Vegetation Type on Oedaleus decorus asiaticus (Orthoptera: Acrididae) Oviposition and Hatching Success

Oedaleus decorus asiaticus (Bei-Bienko, 1941) has been regarded as one of the most dominant locusts in the northern grassland, the adjacent area of agriculture and animal farmland, in China. The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of vegetation type on the oviposition behavior of this pest in an open field and the hatching success of the offspring in the following year. The results showed that vegetation type did have a significant effect on whether any egg pods were laid by O. d. asiaticus. Once the females laid eggs, vegetation type and cage number had a significant effect on the number of egg pods laid. The highest number of egg pods was found in the Cleistogenes squarrosa treatment, followed by Stipa krylovii and then Leymus chinensis, while the Artemisia frigida treatment contained the lowest number of egg pods. The O. d. asiaticus eggs laid in S. krylovii and C. squarrosa treatments had a significantly higher hatching success rate (over 53%) than the other two grasses (below 40%). In short, habitats with C. squarrosa and S. krylovii grasses are likely to be preferred by ovipositing females, thus population monitoring efforts of O. d. asiaticus should focus on these habitats.