38 



reared, and were determined b}' Mr. Schwarz. The eg^g.s are deposited 

 on the leaves about the middle of May, and are continuall}^ deposited 

 for two or three weeks thereafter, all stages — ovum, larva, pupa, and 

 imago — being found on the trees in the earlier part of June. They 

 remain in the pupa state about five days, specimens in the l)reeding 

 cage pupating on June 1, and giving forth imagos on the (Jth. The 

 larval period lasts but a couple of weeks, and breeding experiments 

 would probably show the insect to be at least double-brooded. 



The holl worm^ or coim ear-worin {Heliothis armiger Hbn.). — Young 

 corn a couple of feet in height near Delta was ])adly infested with the 

 bollworm. The leaves were in some cases completely riddled near 

 the base, and the stalks badly burrowed and eaten. This exceptional 

 injury was probal)ly accounted for by the nearness of the worst 

 infested patch (a small area) to an irrigating ditch of considerable 

 size. Corn in drj^er locations seemed little injured. Corn on low 

 wet soil is usually nnich more lialile to excessive injury from the corn 

 worm than on high dr^^ ground. Some years ago in Oi\lahoma 1 saw 

 a small area of field corn planted in a very low wet spot in the bend of 

 a small creek that was completely eaten up by the worms. The stalks 

 attained a height of only about -i feet and were very weak and 

 slender, yet 20 or more larvte could be found in a single plant, ])ur- 

 rowing the stalks so that many fell over. Some plants had all the 

 leaves riddled and the stalk so completelly eaten out that ])ut part of 

 the outer shell remained. So numerous were the larviv that many of 

 them were in a fully exposed position, feeding upon th(> leaves. 



Grasshopper. — Grasshoppers were very abundant in CV)lorado this 

 year. Several reasons may be assigned for their unusal lunnbers. 

 The season was favorable for their deA'(dopment, and the increasing 

 a))undance all over the State of the Ivussian thistle, which is a food 

 plant of a large number of species, may have had considerable infiuence 

 on tiie matter. Professor Bruner suggested also that the rapid killing 

 ofi' of pheasants may l)e a cause of grasshopper increase. 



The prairie along the eastern foothills was swarming with various 

 kinds of Acridiinse. Melanophtx Mvlttatiix was probably the most 

 common species. At Delta this locust threatened to do some damage, 

 and it occurred sparingly at Grand Junction, while at Palisades, 12 

 miles north, none at all were seen. This is a very injurious species, 

 and Professor Gillette places it on an equal footing with the codling- 

 moth as an injurious insect. 



The saltbushes, Sarcobates verniicidarh, about Palisades were 

 infested with ^Eolophxis chenopodll Prun. in large numbers. A small 

 patch in the center of the little town was swarming with them. They 

 were quite active, diving headlong into the prickly bunches of weeds, 

 and proved quite difficult to capture. The}' were not at all common 

 at Grand Junction, and were not taken on the saltbush there. 



