June, 1905.] 



Snodgrass : The Coulee Cricket. 81 



separate from the others. They are discharged from the tip of the 

 ovipositor, passing slowly along its entire length, one at a time, by a 

 slight movement of the blades upon one another. The latter spread 

 apart at the tip as the eggs pass out. 



After laying her eggs the female apparently weakens and dies 

 during the day following. Early in the mornings there may be seen 

 a great many weak or half dead females lying about or being devoured 

 by the other members of the band. Nearly all the remnants of others 

 that have been eaten during the morning are also of females, as is 

 attested by the uneaten ovipositors. 



About the middle of July, it is said, the crickets all die off, and 

 this ends their history for the year. Toward the end of the season there 

 must be a great preponderance of males, for the males were not ob- 

 served to die off daily with the females. Nearly all males being eaten 

 by others were injured individuals. In the migrating bands the next 

 year's brood begins where the parent brood of the year before 

 died off. 



Only one natural enemy of the crickets was noted. This was a 

 large black Pompilid, Palinodes moris Kohl., which during the season 

 of 1902 inhabited in considerable numbers the outskirts of the Coulee 

 City band. The wasps were seen everywhere flitting restlessly about 

 amongst the crickets but no attacks on the latter were observed. One 

 wasp was discovered in the act of dragging a female cricket over the 

 ground to her burrow. The cricket was either dead or paralyzed to 

 such a degree that it exhibited no sign of life and the wasp had her 

 mandibles inserted into its head. On reaching the burrow the cricket 

 was left outside for a few minutes while the wasp hurried below as if 

 to see that all was properly prepared. She then came up and hauled 

 the cricket down head foremost. Immediatly afterwards she returned 

 to the surface and flew away leaving the burrow uncovered. 



Many wasps were seen filling the mouths of their burrows, but 

 in only one such dug open was a cricket found. This was a female 

 with the head upward. During the summer of 1903 not a wasp was 

 seen anywhere. 



No destructive remedy has as yet been successfully applied to these 

 crickets. Experiments made by Professor C. V. Piper on inoculating 

 them with the South African grasshopper fungus were unsuccessful as 

 have been all other attempts to introduce this disease. The insects 

 could probably be killed by rolling, burning, or by turning loose 



