12 GRASSHOPPERS IN GENERAL. 



would hatch to destroy next year's growth. In many cases the cause for death 

 was apparently the work of a fly which deposits its eggs upon the back of the 

 grasshopper. The larvae - small, whitish, worm-like creatures, or maggots soon 

 find their way into the interior of the grasshopper and produce the death of the 

 insect. These larvae were found in a number of the specimens taken, and later 

 two of them changed in the laboratory to adults. They proved to be flesh-flies 

 (Sarcophaga sp. ) Many of the 'hoppers had been deprived of one or both 

 wings the work of the locust mite. 



As previously stated, by the request and with the cooperation of 

 a number of the leading alfalfa growers of this locality I resumed my 

 investigations upon this subject on the 5th of July. That the situa- 

 tion may be more clearly understood, it is probably better to give by 

 counties the conditions existing in the territory studied : 



EDWARDS COUNTY. In the immediate vicinity of Kinsley no great 

 damage was done. A drive over the greater part of Edwards county, 

 in company with Superintendent Smart, showed the greatest damage 

 to be about fifteen miles southwest of Kinsley. Here large areas of 

 alfalfa are grown. There were 3000 acres in one tract in the immedi- 

 ate vicinity of my camp. The first crop of alfalfa was being cut, and 

 by this time the wingless nymphs were moving into adjacent corn- 

 fields. The numbers were by no means general over the entire quarter- 

 sections of alfalfa, but appeared to be very thick in spots. Lying on 

 the south of one quarter-section which was being cut was about thirty 

 acres of good corn just beginning to tassel. Insects moved into this, 

 and instead of eating the leaves they ascended the stalks and ate the 

 tender young tassels. In some cases where the ear of corn was shoot- 

 ing they devoured that before attacking the leaves. They did not seem 

 to work rapidly, but within two weeks had prevented an ear of corn 

 from forming upon that piece of land. Upon another larger piece of 

 corn directly east of this, they entered at one corner and stripped that 

 corner in the shape of a triangle including about ten acres. In Ed- 

 wards county, I had not observed nor did I hear of damage being done 

 to oats, wheat, or barley. Four quarter-sections of alfalfa in that lo- 

 cality, having a rather thin stand, were kept stripped throughout the 

 season, so that at no time was the forage worth the cutting. In the 

 midst of these was where experiments were conducted last winter, of 

 which extended mention will be made in this repoit. And here also 

 practical applications of the "hopper-dozer" were conducted, concern- 

 ing which discussions and descriptions will appear later in this report. 

 Mulberry trees and other fruit-trees in the vicinity of the alfalfa fields 

 were, after the first cutting of the alfalfa, entirely stripped of their 

 leaves. Weeds such as the sunflower and lamb's-quarters were de- 

 nuded, leaving only the bare, white, stripped stalks standing. 



