Jan. IS, .915 Three-Cornered Alfalfa Hopper 345 



isolated by a desert from any other cultivated area. Specimens were 

 taken by the writer at Bard, Cal., another region remote from cultivated 

 areas. Throughout the Imperial Valley in southern California the 

 alfalfa hoppers were found in injurious abundance, while in Mexico, in the 

 peninsula of Lower California, the pest was taken in numbers. In 191 2 

 and 1 913 Mr. Edmund H. Gibson found the species well distributed 

 throughout the States of Mississippi and Tennessee and in several locali- 

 ties in Alabama, as well as at Atlanta, Ga. 



EFFECT OF ALTITUDE ON DISTRIBUTION 



It is quite interesting to note here* that in Arizona and New Mexico the 

 species is distinctly one inhabiting lower altitudes. During the summer 

 of 1913 a great many observations were made on this point. The highest 

 point, to the writer's knowledge, at which it has been taken is Fairbank, 

 Ariz., where, at an altitude of 3,868 feet, on September 4, 1913, Mr. Harry 

 Newton, then an agent of the Bureau of Entomology, found both nymphs 

 and adults to be quite common on alfalfa. The writer made sweepings at 

 Raton, Cimarron, and Las Vegas, N. Mex., all at an altitude above 5,000 

 feet, and while many alfalfa insects common in lower altitudes were 

 taken, not a specimen of Stictocephala was secured. At Ute Park, Taos, 

 Embudo, Bluewater, and Gallup, N. Mex., localities ranging in altitude 

 from 5,000 to 8,000 feet, Mr. J. R. Sandige made sweepings from alfalfa 

 and likewise failed to take a single specimen of Stictocephala, although it 

 is known to occur in lower altitudes in the State. Possibly the most 

 striking obser\'ations were those of Mr. R. N. Wilson, made while on a 

 trip through Arizona for the express purpose of securing records on this 

 species. He visited points varying in altitude from 2,000 to 7,000 feet, 

 but never found the species above about 3,000 feet. His note, made on 

 August 25, 1913, giving a summary of the trip, is as follows: 



The writer returned to-day from a trip over part of Arizona, including stops at Pres- 

 cott, Camp Verde, Williams, Show Low, Pinetop, White River, and Gila River Valley 

 points from Rice to Solomonsville and Miami. Special alfalfa sweepings were made at 

 each of the above-mentioned places to determine whether or not Stictocephala festina 

 occurred in that locality. The highest altitude at which the species was found was 

 3,000 feet, at Camp Verde. Altitudes varying from this to 7,000 feet were examined, 

 but no trace of S.festina was found. When Rice was reached, where the altitude isonly 

 2,5oofeet, this species was again found in numbers, and all the way up the Gila River 

 Valley to Solomonsville (altitude 2,985 feet) the Stictocephala were very common. 



FOOD PLANTS 



The alfalfa hopper lives on a great variety of food plants. Its general dis- 

 tribution and the fact that it is found in such isolated places under cultiva- 

 tion are doubtless due to the wide range of its food habits and probably, 

 also, to the presence of native leguminous plants upon which, in all prob- 

 ability, it lives. Its favorite foods without a doubt belong to the legume 

 family, for it is particularly fond of alfalfa, cowpeas {Vigna sinensis) , a.nd 

 the various clovers, but it has also been found feeding upon trees, shrubs, 

 herbs, and grasses. 



The earhest recorded food plant is the tomato, which in 1888 was 

 reported by Dr. Oemler (4) as being injured by this species. The next 

 record we have is Prof. Cockerell's (9) in 1899, when he reported the 

 hopper as feeding on alfalfa. He also mentions its occurrence on almond 



