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MISSOURI AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



Fig. 65. — The Red-Legged Grass- 

 hopper, Melnnoplus femur-ru- 

 brtim ; natural size. 



noticeable attack, they do so late in the season when the plant is suffi- 

 ciently developed to withstand any ordinary work of these insects. 



Once in a while some of our common 

 grasshoppers become unduly numerous, 

 and then get into corn fields in such num- 

 bers as to strip the leaves and prevent the 

 proper maturing of the ears of corn that 

 would not otherwise have been injured, 

 and they will then ruin a large per cent of 

 the ears by eating through the husks and allowing the kernels to be- 

 come attacked by fungous and other diseases. To be sure, many cases 

 have occurred where these insects have absolutely ruined a corn field 

 in this State, but the chances are that such a case will not happen again, 

 as the country is becoming so thoroughly settled that the immense develop- 

 ment of grasshoppers is not likely to be again presented. Some of our 

 common grasshoppers occur occasionally in sufficient quantities to leave 

 grass fields in large bodies and fly some distance to neighboring corn 

 fields, where they alight and devour the corn plant, but such cases are 

 rare. 



Our most common grasshopper is shown, natural size, in figure 65. 

 It is known as the Red-legged Grasshopper. Another grasshopper which 

 becomes more abundant later in the summer, and which is much larger 

 in size, is represented natural size in figure 66. This is known as the 



Fig. 66. — The Bird Grasshopper, Schistoccrca americana; natural size. 



Bird Grasshopper, and occasionally this insect occurs in sufficient quan- 

 tities to seriously injure corn fields. The Olive Grasshopjx^r, represented 

 natural size in figure 67, and the two striped grasshoppers, represented 

 natural size in figure ,68, are two common species that we frequently 

 find eating of the corn plant, but they are not liable to cause so much 

 trouble as the two former species. Of course, we have a good many 

 other grasshoppers that one will find occasionally in corn fields, but 

 the four I have mentioned seerh to be the more common ones. 



