Binomial sequential sampling plans for rangeland grasshoppers

Abstract

Advances in sampling technology have made it possible to develop binomial sequential sampling plans for rangeland grasshoppers. Using this technique, grasshopper infestations can be rapidly classified into`high' or`low' categories relative to a threshold. We have developed a set of binomial sequential sampling tools, or plans, to assess the level of adult and nymphal grasshopper infestations on rangelands. The adult grasshopper plan was used to assess the level of grasshopper infestations throughout Wyoming, USA, in 1998; this resulted in a 79.5% reduction of the sampling effort. In addition, the adult sequential sampling plan was of sufficient scientific rigour to qualify some ranchers for federal disaster relief funds due to excessive grasshopper feeding. Grasshopper managers should consider using binomial sequential sampling plans wherever and whenever efficient surveys are needed to determine if grasshoppers are a threat to the production of rangeland forage and the maintenance of this ecosystem.

Binomial Sequential Sampling Plan for Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Hemiptera: Adelgidae) Sistens Infesting Individual Eastern Hemlock Trees

“…SIP was developed for insect pests affecting agricultural crops and prairie grasslands Lockwood 2001). We successfully adapted this procedure to A. tsugae that infests hemlock in the eastern United States.…”

Can we make locust and grasshopper management sustainable?

“…In turn, these districts sought financial assistance from the state government. Although a new infrastructure is still developing, it appears likely that acridid surveys will be organized and supported at the inter-county level, with the state providing financial assistance, and counties in grasshopper outbreak areas, unifying their survey practices and reporting under a common set of standard methods developed at the University of Wyoming (Legg & Lockwood 2001).…”