Diet Cricket Eggs

Introduction
This study investigates how the diet of Mormon cricket parents influences the diapause and development rate of their eggs. Two lab experiments were conducted to explore these effects, one using a population from Utah and the other from Wyoming.

Experiment 1: Utah Population
Methods
Location: ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Laboratory, Sidney, Montana.
Population: Collected from Utah (UT, 38.4249 N, 112.8618 W, 1853 m above sea level).
Duration: Ten years, starting June 3, 2013.
Diet Treatments:
Hi P: 2:1 protein to carbohydrates (P
)
PC: 1:1 P
Hi C: 1:2 P
Procedure:
F1 nymphs, hatched in the lab, were fed a natural diet until the 7th instar, then assigned one of the three diet treatments.
Adults (9 days old) were paired based on diet treatment and allowed to mate and lay eggs in nylon cages with dry sand.
F2 eggs were collected, placed in 25% moistened sand, and monitored in a seasonal temperature program: 6 weeks of winter, 2 weeks of spring, 10 weeks of summer, and 2 weeks of autumn. This cycle repeated annually.
Eggs were screened for development, with detailed tracking of their fate (developed, discarded, broken, missing, or fixed for developmental stage review).
Experiment 2: Wyoming Population
Methods
Location: ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Laboratory, Sidney, Montana.
Population: Collected from Wyoming (WY, 44.8264 N, 107.8280 W, 2773 m a.s.l).
Field Study Location: Mountain meadow on Forest Service Road 14 (FSR 14), Bighorn County, Wyoming.
Procedure:
Mormon crickets were caged with varying densities of Northern grasshoppers (Melanoplus borealis) to create diverse maternal diets.
Grasshopper densities: 0, 9, 18, and 27 m².
Mormon cricket densities: 6 and 12 m².
Adult crickets were collected and transported to the lab for further study.
Egg Development and Temperature
Eggs were collected and subjected to various temperatures: 18°C, 20°C, 22°C, 24°C, 26°C, 28°C, 30°C, 32°C.
Eggs were scored for embryonic development every 3-4 days.
Development was assessed until Stage 19 (half-filled egg) or Stage 23 (aestivation at high temperatures).
Results
Diet Impact: The diet of the parent crickets significantly affected the development and diapause of the eggs.
Temperature Influence: Eggs at lower temperatures (22:14°C) showed no development, necessitating exposure to higher temperatures (38:30°C) to gauge developmental responses.
Development Rates: Varying temperatures resulted in different development rates, with higher temperatures accelerating development.
Conclusion
This comprehensive study elucidates the complex interactions between diet, temperature, and egg development in Mormon crickets. The findings underscore the importance of parental diet in influencing progeny development, providing valuable insights for ecological and agricultural applications.