Sociobioeconomical diagnostic of the Oaxacan grasshopper Sphenarium purpurascens Charpentier, 1842 (Orthoptera: Pyrgomorphidae) in Mexico

Abstract

A sociobioeconomical analysis was conducted with a natural renewable resource from Oaxaca State, represented by the grasshopper Sphenarium purpurascens Ch. (Orthoptera: Pyrgomorphidae). Different aspects were surveyed, such as: where they come from; how they are gathered or obtained at different markets; how they are prepared for consumption or for sale in the towns around the city; their commercialization by the market salesman and/or street sellers at the Zaachila, Etla, Zimatlán, Ocotlán, San Antonino, 4 Centenario markets, as well as in the Central de Abastos (Big Providing Resources Center) of Oaxaca City. The cost-benefit that these sales bring to the sellers was analyzed. Specimens bought from different sellers were used to calculate the percentage of females that have already oviposited in order to determine if their indiscriminate capture could diminish grasshopper populations significantly. This percentage oscillated between 14% to 51%, so it seems that grasshoppers can reestablish their biomass. A check list of host plants on which S. purpurascens rest, take shelter or feed upon is given. The role of age and gender in the families of acridid sellers was also surveyed. As for reasons for the decline in the grasshopper populations of S. purpurascens in Oaxaca, the use of insecticides and high male emigration rate is suggested. Measures to protect this grasshopper as a sustainable food source are also discussed.