Bozeman, Montana. 

 January 1, 1941. 

 To His Excellency, 

 Governor Sam C. Ford, 

 Helena, Montana. 

 My Dear Sir: 



I am pleased to present herewith, the 28th report of the State Entomo- 

 logist of Montana. 



The Office of the State Entomologist was established by the Legislative 

 Assembly of 1903 with the assigned duties of conducting field investigations 

 Dn injurious insects within the State, and of investigating outbreaks of in- 

 jurious insects and making recommendations for control. 



Since the establishment of this office 37 years ago, agriculture within 

 the State has increased greatly, and proportionately more time has been 

 spent by the State Entomologist in carrying out the duties of the office. 

 During the last decade of extensive outbreaks of grasshoppers and Mormon 

 crickets, the major part of his time has been spent in control work. 



The law prescribes) that the office carry no salary other than that re- 

 ceived from the College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts and the Experi- 

 ment Station, and twenty years ago this was a reasonable arrangement. 

 At the present time, however, an equitable distribution of salary should 

 include an item for this purpose in the annual appropriation for this office. 



Grasshoppers, during the past biennium, have been again the major 

 injurious insects within the State, and have received much attention. It 

 is estimated that out of a possible loss of $37,365,612 to crops because of in- 

 festations of 'hoppers and Mormon crickets, a savings of $22,909,265 has 

 been realized because of cooperative control campaigns with the United States 

 Department of Agriculture in the last four years. 



It should be pointed out that campaigns against such injurious insects have 

 been made possible only through the assistance of Federal funds. Grass- 

 hopper bait materials have been purchased for use in the State, and dur- 

 ing the past two years equipment has been purchased and crews hired for 

 baiting on abandoned land. While the figures on total Federal expenditures 

 for grasshopper control during the past two years are not available, of the 

 $163,046.10 spent on Mormon cricket control in 1939 and 1940, $125,042.96 

 came from Federal funds. Practically all of the remainder came from county 

 and individual sources. 



Funds made available by the State were far too small even to care for 

 supervision. 



A few newly introduced pests are recorded herein, and mention is 

 made of one which is within striking distance of us in the West. 



Respectfully submitted, 



HARLOW B. MILLS, 



State Entomologist. 



