,„„ w j Snodgrass: The Coulee Cricket. 75 



The insects are large, fat, soft-bodied creatures, about an inch and 



a half in length and of a dark reddish-brown color. 1 he males fig. 



O have very short wings used for stridulating only ; the females (fig. 



2) T e heyli g veT„ bands of many hundred thousands, perhaps millions 

 of individuals and have lately become a menace to crops. In most 

 Ice, they live on desert or "scab-land" areas where there ■ noth- 

 of importance for them to destroy. Some of the bands, how- 

 I-r are migratory, and during the last few years have made their 

 way 'into cultivated parts, doing considerable damage to unprotected 

 field o young wheat, and of course threatening with destruction any 

 country in their line of march -for they dear off nearly everythtng 



"■S.1TS, moving bands coming toward Waterville from the 

 south side of the Badger mountains was visited by the writer the first 

 par of June in ,903. A stationary band living about a mile and a 

 half east of Coule'e City was visited during the latter part of June tn 

 „ 02> and the same site was visited again in June of .903, but there 

 were then no crickets .0 be found there. The crickets were observed 

 L during July of r,oa from Coulee City south along the east stde 

 of Grand Coulee as far as the railroad station of Adrian. 



Nothing has yet been recorded concerning the hatching o the 

 eggs or the growth of the young crickets. By the first of June, how- 

 ever nearly all reach maturity and adult life continues from then until 



" ,e Th^iilr crickets are fat and lazy-looking creatures, living on the 

 .round and in the low bushes of the arid region they inhabit. The 

 ° ajori.y of them keep moving about most of the time but except 

 en migrating, they go in no general direction and the confines of 

 the band'remain pretty definite. On the other hand many _m ay be 

 seen remaining motionless for a long time, especially while sitting in 



^ThtTcustomary gait is a slow walk, but when disturbed they 

 jump Their rate of progression when on an ordinary walk ,s about 

 ten feet a minute. When they jump they cover at one leap iron 

 three .0 four inches. They have no fear of a person and only get out 

 of one's path .0 avoid being stepped on. If allowed to do so they 

 will climb all over one's clothes and even .0 the top of one s hat 

 Workmen that learn to disregard them often become covered by them 

 while working or standing in an infested field. 



