4 MONTANA EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 484 



tamination of cereals to be used for human consumption. The 

 federal regulations which currently apply to other human foods 

 in intra-state shipment are now being applied to wheat. This office 

 along with the Montana Agricultural Extension Service has been 

 called upon to develop a program of preventing contamination of 

 stored grain. It has been found that the principal sources of con- 

 tamination to these grains are rodents, birds, insects, and other 

 animals. Such contamination can be largely eliminated by a pro- 

 gram of proper storage and sanitation. 



Recent research on Montana mosquitoes has provided infor- 

 mation which indicates that area-wide mosquito control under Mon- 

 tana conditions may be practicable in the near future. Large-scale 

 mosquito control can be realized only if an educational program 

 is successfully conducted. This office is currently planning such 

 programs to meet this need. 



GENERAL FEEDERS 



GRASSHOPPERS 



1951 SEASON 



Grasshopper populations in 1951 were generally lower than 

 in 1950. Scattered localized infestations of range and crop grass- 

 hoppers did occur so that some economic damage was experienced 

 in nearly every county. Grasshopper control is now the complete 

 responsibility of individual land owners except in cases where 

 public domain is involved. Therefore, more intensive educational 

 programs were conducted. A total of 53 educational meetings were 

 undertaken which were attended by 2.263 people. In addition, 

 educational programs were carried out through newspapers, radio, 

 and bulletins. It is estimated that 120.000 acres of cropland and 

 80,000 acres of rangeland were treated for grasshopper control 

 during this year. 



Melanoplus bivitattus in eastern Montana and Melanoplus 

 bivitattus and Melanoplus meocicanus in western Montana were 

 the principal species involved in damage to cropland. A some- 

 what spotted but relatively intense early season outbreak of 

 Aeropedellus clavatus occurred in northcentral Montana causing 

 considerable early damage to grain crops. 



As compared to the previous two years, Melanoplus mexi- 

 canus, Metator pardalinus, Aulocara elliotti, and Drepanopterna 

 femoratum were generally present in much lower populations. 

 Camnula pellucida appeared to be increasing particularly in 

 Meagher and Judith Basin counties. 



