April, '17] KELLY: GREEN-BUG OUTBREAK 247 



rain had been very heavy from Wichita north, extending northwest 

 through the southern edge of Reno and on out to Stafford county, 

 northward. 



The weather being fine, these gentlemen accompanied me in my 

 automobile on an inspection trip south of Wellington through Hunne- 

 well, Kansas, to Nardin, Oklahoma, thence west to Medford, and 

 directly north to Mayfield. We found the, wheat fields heavilj^ in- 

 fested from Wellington to Medford, many of them being devastated, 

 some of them being plowed up. The oat fields observed on this trip 

 were condemned as worthless by all of these gentlemen. Many of the 

 oat fields were being plowed up, and listed to sorghums, and many of 

 them were so heavily infested as to be absolutely worthless. On this 

 day we found a few of the adult parasites, or parasitized Toxoptera, in 

 practically every wheat field we visited, and a few in oat fields. We 

 continued our drive to the north on the morning of the 16th, going 

 through Peck to Wichita, Newton, Mount Ridge, to McPherson, and 

 on to Salina. We found the devastation extended to the southern 

 border of the rain which occurred on the 13th of May, just south of 

 Wichita. The heavy rain had beaten the aphids off the plants and 

 caused the oats and wheat to outgrow the attack. A few individuals 

 were found all the way from Newton north to Salina, but at no place 

 were they in such numbers as to cause alarm. On the return from 

 Salina I was alone, but went out -by the way of Hutchinson. South- 

 east of this town many fields were heavily infested, but no devastation 

 was yet apparent. Southwest of Wichita the situation was about the 

 same, until I passed out of the rain belt. 



Flight of Migrants 



A few winged Toxoptera were caught on a large wire screen March 

 28; however, the general flight did not begin till the last of April or the 

 first of May. 



By the 18th to the 20th of May the oats and wheat were dying every- 

 where in southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma. Millions of the 

 winged forms were flying and lighting on everything green, especially 

 young corn. In northern Oklahoma many hundreds of acres of corn 

 were devastated, and sorghums damaged by the winged forms. The 

 first generation was about all that was produced on the corn and sor- 

 ghum, the second generation seeming to be unable to survive. On 

 May 22, billions of the bugs were flying all day long, and late in the 

 afternoon it seemed that the air was absolutely full of them. They 

 obstructed travel by getting in every one's eyes. Street lights were 

 dimmed by them. The general direction of flight was always in the 



