Editing Grasshopper (section)

===Life cycle===
[[File:Grasshoppermetasnodgrass.svg|thumb|upright=0.6|Six stages (instars) of development, from newly hatched nymph to fully winged adult]]
[[File:Two eastern Lubber grasshopers (Romalea microptera), mating.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Romalea microptera]]'' grasshoppers: female (larger) is laying eggs, with male in attendance.]]
In most grasshopper species, conflicts between males over females rarely escalate beyond ritualistic displays. Some exceptions include the chameleon grasshopper (''[[Kosciuscola|Kosciuscola tristis]]''), where males may fight on top of ovipositing females; engaging in leg grappling, biting, kicking and mounting.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Umbers, K. |author2=Tatarnic, N. |author3=Holwell, G. |author4=Herberstein, M. |year=2012|title=Ferocious Fighting between Male Grasshoppers |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=7 |issue=11 |page=e49600 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0049600 |doi-access=free |pmid=23166725 |pmc=3498212|bibcode=2012PLoSO...749600U }}</ref>

Female grasshoppers of the species ''[[Chorthippus biguttulus]]'' appear to be able to integrate information from male calling songs.<ref name = Clemens2014>Clemens J, Krämer S, Ronacher B. Asymmetrical integration of sensory information during mating decisions in grasshoppers. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Nov 18;111(46):16562-7. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1412741111. Epub 2014 Nov 3. PMID: 25368152; PMCID: PMC4246278.</ref>  An unattractive song subunit far outweighs an attractive song subunit, and this asymmetrical integration is consistent with theories of [[sexual selection]] because it helps females avoid potentially costly interaction with unsuitable mating partners if the song belongs to another species or indicates a low-quality male.<ref name = Clemens2014/>

The newly emerged female grasshopper has a preoviposition period of a week or two while she increases in weight and her eggs mature. After mating, the female of most species digs a hole with her [[ovipositor]] and lays a batch of eggs in a pod in the ground near food plants, generally in the summer. After laying the eggs, she covers the hole with soil and litter.<ref name=Pfadt1to8/> Some, like the semi-aquatic ''[[Cornops aquaticum]]'', deposit the pod directly into plant tissue.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Hill, M.P. |author2=Oberholzer, I.G. |year=2000 |title=Host specificity of the grasshopper, ''Cornops aquaticum'', a natural enemy of water hyacinth |journal=Proceedings of the X International Symposium on Biological Control of Weeds |editor=Spencer, Neal R. |publisher=Montana State University |pages=349–356 |url=http://www.invasive.org/publications/xsymposium/proceed/05pg349.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220175939/http://www.invasive.org/publications/xsymposium/proceed/05pg349.pdf |archive-date=20 December 2016 }}</ref> The eggs in the pod are glued together with a froth in some species. After a few weeks of development, the eggs of most species in temperate climates go into [[diapause]], and pass the winter in this state. Diapause is broken by a sufficiently low ground temperature, with development resuming as soon as the ground warms above a certain threshold temperature. The embryos in a pod generally all hatch out within a few minutes of each other. They soon shed their membranes and their exoskeletons harden. These first [[instar]] nymphs can then jump away from predators.<ref name=UW>
Pfadt, 1994. pp. 11–16. [http://www.uwyo.edu/entomology/grasshoppers/ghlcycle.htm Diagrams] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402110127/http://www.uwyo.edu/entomology/grasshoppers/ghlcycle.htm |date=2 April 2015 }} 
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<!--[[File:Grasshopper moult 2015-08-04.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|Abandoned moult]] no room for this at the moment-->
Grasshoppers undergo [[incomplete metamorphosis]]: they [[ecdysis|repeatedly moult]], each instar becoming larger and more like an adult, with the wing-buds increasing in size at each stage. The number of instars varies between species but is often six. After the final moult, the wings are inflated and become fully functional. The migratory grasshopper, ''[[Melanoplus sanguinipes]]'', spends about 25 to 30 days as a nymph, depending on sex and temperature, and lives for about 51 days as an adult.<ref name=UW/>