3 0864 1004 1450 

 MONTANA INSECT PESTS 

 1951 and 1952 

 Thirty-Fourth Report Of The State Entomologist 



J. H. Pepper J. P. Corkins L. N. Graham 



D. R. Merkley N. L. Anderson' 



INTRODUCTION 



Most of the major insect pests with the possible exception of 

 alfalfa weevils have been at a general low ebb during the bien- 

 nium. However, the overall insect damage to Montana agricul- 

 ture was not appreciably reduced principally due to the increasing 

 occurrence and activities of several insects which were formerly 

 considered to be minor pests. General expansion and intensifica- 

 tion of agricultural programs are expected to cause new insect 

 problems to develop. Such new insect pests may include those 

 introduced from other areas as well as native insects which are 

 adapting themselves to our changing agricultural conditions. Con- 

 tinued research, vigilance, and the use of modern control methods 

 should help to prevent serious reverses in our agricultural econ- 

 omy from new insect pests as well as from those which are already 

 established. 



In past years range and cropland grasshoppers have been the 

 undisputed leading insect pests of Montana's agriculture. During 

 the biennium grasshoppers have been at a near historical low 

 point in occurrence and damage caused. In spite of the reduced 

 infestations, more than 50,000 acres were treated in 1952 alone. 

 In the event that conditions, which are unknown as yet, favorable 

 to the rapid build-up of these insects should occur, outbreaks 

 could be expected to materialize within a relatively short period 

 of time. The ultimate objective of the range grasshopper inves- 

 tigations currently being carried out by this office, in cooperation 

 with the Agricultural Experiment Station at Montana State Col- 

 lege, is to determine how grasshopper outbreaks occur and how to 

 prevent such occurrences. A bulletin in which preliminary studies 

 on this problem are summarized is now in press. We are now 

 equipped with the information from these studies to enable us 

 to carry out a better program of grass protection. 



Surveys, and reports from inspections at terminal elevators, 

 indicate that a serious problem of grain contamination exists 1 in 

 Montana. The Federal Food and Drug Administration is currently 

 conducting a program the objective of which is to eliminate con- 



'State Entomologist; Assistant State Entomologist; Assistant State Apiarist; Assist- 

 ant Entomologist, Montana Agricultural Experiment Station; Assistant State 

 Entomologist. 



