USEFUL PARASITES. 



THE GEASSHOPPER PARASITE. 



{Aioma gryllaria, n. sp.) 

 Class of AR ACHNIDA. Family of Acarid^. 



During a visit at the residence of Mr. O. B. Galusha, at 

 Morris, on the 26th of June, he called my attention to a ver- 

 milion-red parasite, which he had observed for a number of 

 years, and which were attached to the underside of the wings 

 of grasshoppers. Mr. Galusha had previously spoken to me 

 of these parasites, but I had not before had an opportunity to investi- 

 gate them. Three years ago the grasshoppers prevailed excessively in 

 this section of country, and were very destructive to many kinds of 

 vegetation. Since then they have been much less numerous, and the 

 diminution of their numbers has been attributed to the operation of 

 these parasites, which seem greatly to weaken their victim without 

 directly destroying it. The grasshoppers, the present season, are not 

 very abundant, and did not appear to be much infested with parasites, 

 though most of the fully-grown ones which we examined, had a few 

 parasites attached to their wings. Subsequently, I examined grasshop- 

 pers in my own neighborhood, and found them equally, and some of 

 them more severely infested. Upon the wings of one of them I counted 

 thirty of these parasites. Most of them had attained a pretty uniform 

 size, being about one-thirtieth of an inch in length, but easily visible on 

 account of their intensely red color, giving them the appearance of little 

 bits of sealing-wax, or coral. 



They are of an oblong, oval form, moderately convex and having an 

 Uneven surface, produced by tour shallow depressions on the upper 

 side, the two larger near the middle, and the others behind them. The 

 body has also two slight constrictions, giving it the appearance of being 

 divided into three segments; but the impressions are superficial and 

 only visible at the sides. The whole surface is finely striate, under the 



