GRASSHOPPER CONTROL. a 3 
the grasshoppers while they are in flight. The maggot of this para- 
site devours the internal portions of the grasshopper’s body and soon 
causes its death. Robber flies (fig. 16) feed very largely upon young 
grasshoppers, grasping them in their long, stout legs, thrusting the 
strong beak through the body wall of the grasshopper and sucking 
out the liquid contents of the body. Several kinds of digger wasps 
(fig. 17) kill or stupefy grasshoppers by stinging, and then drag 
them into their underground nests, after which the wasp lays an egg 
upon the body of the grasshopper, which subsequently becomes food 
for the newly hatched grub. A number of blister beetles are known 
to prey in their younger stages upon the eggs of grasshoppers, but 
Fic. 15.—A two-winged fly, Sarcophaga kellyi, parasitic on grasshoppers: Adult. About 
six times natural size. (Kelly.) 
as the adult beetles are sometimes quite injurious to potatoes, beans, 
and other cultivated plants, they can not be considered as entirely de- 
sirable allies of the farmer. 
WILD AND DOMESTIC BIRD ENEMIES. 
The Bureau of Biological Survey has found that wild birds play 
a great part in the natural control of grasshoppers. These feathered 
friends of man are always present where grasshoppers abound and 
work almost constantly in aiding the farmer. The statement that 
all birds feed upon grasshoppers is so near the absolute truth that 
it needs only insignificant modifications. From the largest hawks 
to the tiny hummingbirds there are no exceptions other than the 
