274 THE NORTH AMERICAN GRASSLAND 



diana. It extends into Missouri, where its place is taken southward 

 by C. ncbrasccnsis texensis Bailey (Henry, 1897; Bailey, 1905, 1913, 

 1931). 



The badger, as a typical grassland animal, ranged eastward to the 

 border of deciduous forest, and it still occurs sparingly in Illinois and 

 Indiana. It digs a hole usually about 6 feet deep; its reaction reaches 

 greater depths than do the reactions of other burrowers in the true 

 prairie and subclimax. It moves much soil in digging out its prey, 

 which consists of ground squirrels, pocket gophers, etc. The thirteen- 

 lined ground squirrel {Citellus 13-lineatus [Mitchill]) and the pocket 

 gopher {Geomys bursarius [Shaw]) disturb the soil near the surface; 

 the former feeds on a great variety of food, including numerous insects. 

 The prairie meadow mouse {Microtus ochrogastcr [Wagner] ) occurs 

 quite generally, but the prairie deer mouse belongs to serai develop- 

 mental stages; neither of these influences the soil to any extent, as 

 they rarely burrow (cf. Stephens, 1922). 



The greater prairie chicken {Tympanuchus cwpido americanns 

 [Reich.]) is the characteristic resident bird of the true prairie. The 

 southern two-thirds probably originally contained the bobwhite, which 

 was unknown in forest localities until after the land was cleared. Other 

 strictly prairie birds are the eastern meadow lark, dickcissel, eastern 

 field sparrow, and prairie horned lark. All these nest on or close to 

 the ground, consume vast amounts of seed, and feed their young with 

 quantities of prairie insects. (Cf. A. 0. U. Check List, 1931.) 



The reptiles of the true prairie climax are limited to snakes through 

 all but the southern portion. The chief rattlesnake of the central 

 portion is the massasauga {Sistrurus catenatus Raf.), which dwells 

 most often on wet ground. The blue racer occurs throughout, and the 

 bullsnake {Pituophis sayi Schleg.) is common well into Illinois; it 

 feeds on striped and Franklin ground squirrels and meadow mice. The 

 commonest snake of all is the prairie gartersnake {Tharnnophu radix 

 B. & G.), which feeds principally on earthworms, frogs, and toads 

 (Shclford, 1913; Adams, 1915; Hankinson, 1915; Shackleford, 1929; 

 Hendrickson, 1930). 



Insects of all kinds occur on the prairies in abundance; by late 

 August they have usually attained a great variety and quantity, some- 

 times reaching 10 million individuals per acre. Grasshoppers are 

 especially important, one of the most typical being the lubbery locust 

 (Mclnnoplus diffcrcntialis [Thomas]), which places its eggs in the 

 ground. This feeds on lush vegetation and is usually found in wet 

 places. The sword bearer {N eoconocephalus ensiger [Harris] ) prefers 

 grasses as food and deposits its eggs between the stem and lower 



