8? 



from these dead grasshoppers on 10th August, pupated from the 12th 

 to 14th, and adult flies emerged on 26th August. These belonged to 

 several species, one of which, Sarcophaga kellyi, has been described as 

 new by Dr. J. M. Aldrich, whose description is appended to this paper. 

 Dissection of attacked grasshoppers revealed several small maggots 

 in the viscera of the thorax and abdomen, and also under the scutellum. 

 Further investigations showed this species of Sarcophaga to be 

 viviparous, and that minute larvae are deposited by the parent fly 

 on the underside of the unfolded posterior wings of the flying grass- 

 hopper, the striking of the wing by the fly probably causing the 

 sudden dropping of the victim. 



A large species, Schistocerca americana, Drury, was captured, and 

 when it attempted to fly while being held by its hind legs, it was at 

 once struck on the underside of the unfolded wing by several Sarco- 

 phagid flies. This experiment was repeated with several individuals 

 of Melanoplus atlantis, Riley, and M. femur-rubrum, De Geer, and on 

 32 specimens the maggots were found on the underside of the unfolded 

 wing, with a few scattered promiscuously on the abdominal segments ; 

 an examination of 75 individuals of M. bivittatus gave similar results. 

 The larvae grow rapidly, and having matured in from 10 to 30 days, 

 pupate in the soil at a depth of from 2 to 6 inches ; while most 

 frequently found beneath the dead host, they have sometimes been 

 observed to crawl a distance of 40 inches before entering the soil. 

 The Sarcophagids often seemed unable to distinguish grasshoppers 

 from other insects and were observed to strike moths and butterflies 

 and deposit larvae upon them, but attempts to rear the flies from 

 Lepidoptera so attacked were unsuccessful. In July 1913, nymphs 

 of M. dijferenticdis and M. bivittatus were very plentiful and afforded 

 ample material for study ; adults of S. kellyi frequently deposited 

 larvae on the nymphs in the second, third and fourth instars as they 

 hopped about, but in no instance was a fly observed attacking those 

 not in motion. H. E. Smith, who observed flies attacking nymphs 

 of Dissosteira lofigipennis, Thos., during a severe outbreak of this 

 species at Elida, New Mexico, found that they deposited larvae on 

 soft, freshly emerged individuals which were crawling about the 

 vegetation. During a serious outbreak of grasshoppers, which occurred 

 in the vicinity of Wellston, Oklahoma, early in June 1913, the pre- 

 valent species being Melanoplus differentialis, M. bivittatus, and 

 M. atlantis, with a few individuals of other species, very large numbers 

 were parasitised by Sarcophagids and eventually were practically 

 controlled by them. 



In the course of further experiments with Sarcophagids, S. kellyi, 

 S. cimbicis. Towns., S. hunteri, Hough, and S. sarraceniae, Riley, 

 were observed attacking adults and nymphs of Chortophaga viridi- 

 fasciata, De Geer, which hibernates in the nymphal stages, and also the 

 larger nymphs of M. differentialis and M. bivittatus, which were less 

 common. It is probable that there are five or six generations of these 

 species in the season. Other species of Sarcophaga known to parasitise 

 grasshoppers, are S. sinuata, Meig., and S. helicis. Towns. The 

 Chalcids, Perilampus hyalinus, Say, Chalcis coloradensis, Cress., 

 Aphaereta sp., and Eupteromalus sp., have all been reared from the 

 puparia of Sarcophaga, but to what extent these parasites affect the 

 efficiency of the flies cannot be estimated. 



