UF/IFAS
Okeechobee County Extension Service
458 Highway 98 North
Okeechobee, FL 34972-2578
Phone: (863) 763-6469
E- mail: okeechobee@ifas.ufl.edu
May 12 , 2011
Quick Links: Warnings Management References
Feature Article - for release May 13, 2011
Doug Caldwell and Dan Culbert - Extension Horticulture Agents
Get them while they are small!
I was finishing up a request this past week to identify a pest found in some pastures near Vero, and the office visitor mentioned “the lubbers are also abundant in the pasture where the Robber Fly lives.” Whoa!
I’ll talk about the beneficial Robber flies another time, but when I shared his comments with one of South Florida’s best entomologists, (UF/IFAS Collier County Entomologist Doug Caldwell) he responded, “yeah we are having a lot of the Lubbers this year, so I put this fact sheet together.” I’ve gained his permission to use his fact sheet as an article on this creature:
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| These lubber immatures
(nymphs) are chewing on one of their favorite food
items, an amaryllis. Photo: Doug Caldwell, UF/IFAS Collier Extension
Service |
 |
| Crinum
Lilies are popular plants with Lubber grasshoppers. Photo: Doug Caldwell, UF/IFAS
Collier Extension Service |
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| This larger Lubber nymph was found in an Indian River County pasture early this month. Photo: Chris Crawford A.I.A. |
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| Adult
Lubbers don’t appear until late summer, and are
much larger and more colorful that the small nymphs
that are hatching this spring. Photo: Doug Caldwell, UF/IFAS
Collier Extension Service |
Defoliating pests, the great lubber grasshoppers:
I’ve been getting more calls than usual about the hoards of little black hoppers with yellow or red racing stripes congregating on walls and poles. This was a month ago or so, they are larger now and they tend to become more solitary feeders as they grow larger.
“They” are the lubber grasshoppers (Romalea microptera). The common name, lubber, means a clumsy or lazy person. Most people don’t connect the fact that the smaller hoppers are the same species as the lumbering, 2 to 3 inch long adults. The lubbers go through about five stages (instars), with the adults appearing around July and August.
Why are there so many? We may have more lubbers this year than normal due to the natural population cycle of the parasitic Tachnid fly (Anisia serotina). If the fly is active, it will reduce the lubber population. So we may be in a low parasite year. (You understand, nobody really tracks these sorts of details year after year!)
The adult lubbers are flightless. Thank goodness - can you imagine driving your car through a swarm of these? An outbreak of love bugs would be preferable! The color of adults ranges from beige-yellow-pink with scattered black spots. These are so large that one could probably tie a fishing line around it and the lubber would grab the fish - No hook required! But, seriously, the females deposit about 50 eggs into the ground in a styrofoam-like froth in late summer through early fall. The female makes one to three deposits. In southern Florida, the little black hoppers will hatch next February.
Foaming, kicking, spitting and wild alert colors
One would think these little hoppers would be excellent snacks for birds and anole lizards, but besides its warning coloration which is interpreted in the animal kingdom (red, yellow and black) as, “Don’t eat me or you will get sick or die.”
The lubber reportedly backs up the warning colors with toxic substances. Yes, besides the usual grasshopper regurgitation trick of plant material (“tobacco juice”), there are some ill-fated ingestion reports --- stories about birds dying and a hurling (vomiting) opossum story after a lubber was consumed.
The lubber also produces an irritating foamy spray from the thorax area as it forces air out of its spiracles. There is reportedly a “frightful hissing sound” as it releases the noxious spray. I can’t wait to test this! The behavior of this insect would make it a strong contender for a rugby team mascot. Especially a slow moving rugby team: if you can spit, kick and cover yourself with nasty foam, you don’t need to run fast.
Food
There’s
some mystery as to why more damage isn’t done by the
lubbers. They are often found resting on the ground or
walls when they are small, instead of constantly eating
like other hoppers do. However, in the landscape, the
adults can do some serious damage on crinum lily,
amaryllis, Jewels of Opar (Talinum paniculatum 'Variegatum')
and Scheflera arboricola. Dr. John
Capinera (Entomology, UF/IFAS) reports in his book, Grasshoppers of Florida, they
feed on many herbs and shrubs. Favorite foods are
said to include: pokeweed (Phytolaca americana) pickerel
weed (Pontederia cordata); lizard's tail (Saururus
sp.); sedges (Cyperus spp);
and arrowhead (Sagittaria spp.).
What
to do
-
Carefully
follow these instructions!
Locate adult lubber, using two bricks or two blocks of wood, with a clapping motion quickly flatten the insect between the surfaces:
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Seriously - It is easiest to control these guys when they are (were) small. Pesticide brands containing Carbaryl (Sevin), bifenthrin, triazicide, permethrin, etc. should be applied directly to the insects themselves or the plants you want to protect. Make sure the pesticide is labeled for the area or plant you intend to spray. If you would prefer to bathe them, capture and drown them in a bucket filled with soapy water.
Thanks to Dr. Caldwell for his humorous insightful words, and keep an eye out for the little ones before they grow into monstrous hoppers. If you need more information on Lubbers, take a look at the references at our website: http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu Our phone number is (863) 763-6469, and you can email us at okeechobee@ifas.ufl.edu.
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References:
Caldwell,Doug,
Ph.D. Defoliating
pests, the great lubber grasshoppers: Get them while they
are small! Naples:
UF/IFAS Collier County Extension Service, April 2011.
Culbert,
Daniel F.
"Big
Grasshoppers Cause Little Problems."
Vero Beach Press Journal. October 10, 1999.
ibid. "Beware - a plague of Locusts. " Okeechobee: UF/IFAS Extension Service, May 26, 2004
Scherer, Clay and Capinera, John. Eastern lubber grasshopper (EENY-6). Feature Creature Bulletin. Gainesville UF/IFAS Collier County Extension Service, February 2008. http://entnemdept.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/orn/lubber.htm
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imply criticism of products not named. The Florida Cooperative Extension Service - Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an equal opportunity/
affirmative action employer authorized to provide research, educational information, and other services to individuals and institutions that function
without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap, or national origin. Florida
Cooperative
Extension Service / IFAS / University
of
Florida.
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Ferrer-Chancy, Interim Dean.
Last
update: 05/17/2011. This page is maintained by Dan
Culbert
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