﻿rACKARD.l 
  HABITS 
  OF 
  THE 
  LOCUST. 
  627 
  

  

  Oa 
  the 
  14th 
  of 
  August 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  males 
  died. 
  The 
  female 
  died 
  on 
  the 
  9th 
  of 
  Septem- 
  

   ber, 
  and 
  was 
  found 
  to 
  contain 
  fourteen 
  full-sized 
  eggs 
  ; 
  but 
  I 
  found, 
  on 
  examining 
  the 
  

   cage, 
  that 
  there 
  was 
  also 
  a 
  full-sized 
  egg-cone 
  where 
  she 
  had 
  already 
  appeared 
  to 
  de- 
  

   posit 
  on 
  the 
  15th 
  of 
  July. 
  Of 
  the 
  rest 
  of 
  the 
  Eocky 
  Mountain 
  locusts, 
  the 
  males 
  were 
  

   caged 
  with 
  some 
  female 
  red-legged 
  locusts 
  caught 
  in 
  my 
  garden, 
  and 
  although 
  tlie 
  

   two 
  species 
  did 
  not 
  seem 
  inclined 
  to 
  have 
  much 
  commerce 
  with 
  each 
  other, 
  I 
  saw 
  one 
  

   pair 
  coupling. 
  These 
  observations 
  are 
  very 
  slight 
  and 
  imperfect, 
  but 
  are 
  given 
  for 
  

   whatever 
  they 
  might 
  be 
  worth. 
  That 
  the 
  male 
  dies 
  first 
  may 
  be 
  inferred, 
  not 
  only 
  by 
  

   the 
  above 
  experiment, 
  but 
  from 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  in 
  September 
  it 
  was 
  common 
  to 
  find 
  many 
  

   pairs 
  coupled, 
  of 
  which 
  the 
  female 
  was 
  alive, 
  but 
  the 
  male 
  had 
  died 
  without 
  releasing 
  

   himself. 
  

  

  The 
  time 
  required 
  from 
  hatching 
  till 
  the 
  wings 
  are 
  obtained 
  averages 
  about 
  two 
  

   months. 
  The 
  high 
  and 
  long 
  flights 
  characteristic 
  to 
  the 
  species 
  after 
  the 
  wings 
  are 
  

   acquired 
  are 
  seldom 
  indulged, 
  except 
  when 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  fair 
  wind. 
  

  

  Just 
  as 
  the 
  mature 
  insects 
  fly, 
  as 
  a 
  rule, 
  in 
  a 
  southeasterly 
  direction, 
  so 
  the 
  young, 
  

   soon 
  after 
  they 
  hatch, 
  manifest 
  the 
  same 
  desire 
  to 
  move 
  toward 
  the 
  southeast. 
  They 
  

   are 
  most 
  active 
  in 
  the 
  heat 
  of 
  the 
  day, 
  but 
  are 
  p'erhaps 
  more 
  ravenous 
  at 
  night. 
  They 
  

   migrate 
  short 
  distances 
  everj' 
  clear 
  day, 
  but 
  do 
  not 
  like 
  to 
  cross 
  a 
  stream 
  unless 
  they 
  

   can 
  jump 
  it. 
  If 
  driven 
  into 
  water, 
  however, 
  they 
  kick 
  about, 
  making 
  considerable 
  

   progress, 
  and 
  donot 
  easily 
  drown. 
  Such, 
  at 
  least, 
  are 
  the 
  habits 
  of 
  the 
  young 
  hatched 
  

   in 
  the 
  Mississippi 
  Valley, 
  though 
  it 
  is 
  very 
  probable 
  that 
  in 
  their 
  native 
  table-lands 
  of 
  

   the 
  mountain 
  regiou 
  the 
  migrating 
  habit 
  is 
  not 
  developed 
  till 
  they 
  have 
  acquired 
  wings, 
  

   and 
  are 
  forced 
  from 
  hunger 
  to 
  seek 
  new 
  quarters. 
  

  

  I 
  copy 
  the 
  following 
  letter 
  from 
  Mr. 
  J. 
  L. 
  Cabot, 
  dated 
  Currie, 
  Minn., 
  

   July 
  20, 
  1875, 
  which 
  gives 
  a 
  good 
  idea 
  of 
  the 
  fecundity 
  of 
  the 
  insect 
  : 
  

  

  This 
  is 
  the 
  third 
  season 
  that 
  we 
  have 
  had 
  hoppers. 
  The 
  first 
  year 
  they 
  came 
  on 
  the 
  

   r2th 
  of 
  June 
  and 
  deposited 
  their 
  eggs, 
  and 
  went 
  away 
  in 
  four 
  days, 
  leaving 
  the 
  coun- 
  

   try 
  almost 
  totally 
  cropless. 
  The 
  next 
  season, 
  1874, 
  they 
  hatched 
  in 
  the 
  last 
  jjart 
  of 
  May, 
  

   _ 
  and 
  staid 
  here 
  until 
  about 
  the 
  4th 
  of 
  July. 
  They 
  left 
  the 
  county 
  totally 
  stripped 
  of 
  

   " 
  all 
  domestic 
  vegetation, 
  with 
  the 
  exception 
  of 
  about 
  a 
  tenth 
  part 
  of 
  a 
  crop 
  of 
  potatoes. 
  

   The 
  State 
  furnished 
  the 
  county 
  with 
  seed-wheat 
  this 
  spring, 
  and 
  our 
  land 
  was 
  all 
  sown 
  

   and 
  planted 
  again. 
  Until 
  the 
  4th 
  of 
  July 
  crops 
  bid 
  fair 
  for 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  largest 
  yields 
  

   ever 
  known 
  in 
  the 
  State. 
  But 
  ou 
  that 
  day 
  about 
  noon 
  the 
  grasshoppers 
  began 
  to 
  

   come 
  down 
  in 
  such 
  numbers 
  that 
  in 
  some 
  places 
  they 
  destroyed 
  the 
  crops 
  in 
  two 
  days. 
  

   They 
  were 
  very 
  large 
  ones,, 
  and 
  left 
  in 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  days, 
  but 
  had 
  no 
  sooner 
  gone 
  than 
  

   other 
  hordes 
  of 
  smaller 
  ones 
  came, 
  and 
  in 
  double 
  the 
  number, 
  and 
  began 
  to 
  lay 
  their 
  

   eggs 
  and 
  leave. 
  More 
  came 
  and 
  took 
  their 
  places, 
  and 
  laid 
  more 
  eggs, 
  and 
  passed 
  on 
  

   southwest, 
  rolling 
  over 
  the 
  prairie 
  likehea.vy 
  clouds 
  of 
  mist 
  on 
  a 
  foggy 
  day. 
  And 
  still 
  

   they 
  come 
  and 
  go. 
  

  

  Another 
  man 
  and 
  myself 
  selected 
  an 
  average 
  spot 
  in 
  a 
  field 
  and 
  dug 
  from 
  a 
  foot 
  square 
  

   300 
  cones, 
  each 
  cone 
  containing 
  an 
  average 
  of 
  30 
  eggs, 
  which 
  would 
  make 
  392,040,000 
  

   eggs 
  to 
  the 
  acre. 
  

  

  We 
  then 
  caught 
  about 
  a 
  pint 
  of 
  the 
  grown 
  hoppers 
  and 
  found 
  it 
  to 
  contain 
  320 
  insects, 
  

   which 
  would 
  make 
  20,480 
  to 
  the 
  bushel. 
  And 
  calculating 
  each 
  egg 
  a 
  hopper, 
  we 
  found 
  

   that 
  next 
  spring 
  when 
  they 
  hatch 
  out 
  we 
  will 
  have 
  19,000 
  bushels 
  to 
  the 
  acre, 
  and 
  

   3,200,000 
  to 
  the 
  quarter-section, 
  or 
  14 
  quarts 
  to 
  the 
  square 
  foot. 
  And 
  still 
  they 
  are 
  

   laying 
  their 
  eggs. 
  But 
  if 
  they 
  will 
  go 
  away 
  to-day 
  or 
  to-morrow 
  they 
  will 
  leave 
  us 
  

   enough 
  to 
  live 
  on. 
  I 
  can't 
  describe 
  the 
  feelings 
  of 
  tbe 
  people. 
  "We 
  think 
  that 
  if 
  the 
  

   State 
  and 
  General 
  Government 
  would 
  help 
  us 
  to 
  protect 
  the 
  grass 
  on 
  the 
  prairies 
  until 
  

   next 
  June, 
  the 
  hoppers 
  might 
  be 
  exterminated 
  by 
  fire. 
  

  

  A 
  few 
  of 
  the 
  eggs 
  hatch 
  in 
  the 
  autumn. 
  This 
  has 
  been 
  noticed 
  in 
  

   Colorado 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Byers,* 
  and 
  in 
  Missouri 
  by 
  Professor 
  Eiley, 
  who 
  states 
  

   that 
  in 
  this 
  State 
  " 
  in 
  most 
  counties, 
  even 
  in 
  the 
  northern 
  ones, 
  some 
  

   of 
  the 
  earlier 
  eggs 
  hatched, 
  especially 
  those 
  laid 
  on 
  hill-sides 
  and 
  other 
  

   high 
  ground 
  exposed 
  to 
  the 
  rays 
  of 
  the 
  sun. 
  The 
  young 
  hoppers 
  at- 
  

   tained 
  a 
  size 
  of 
  one-fourth 
  to 
  one-half 
  of 
  an 
  inch, 
  and 
  were 
  active 
  during 
  

   the 
  middle 
  of 
  the 
  day, 
  even 
  into 
  December. 
  These 
  young 
  hoppers 
  dis- 
  

   appear 
  and 
  seek 
  winter 
  shelter; 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  doubtful 
  whether 
  many, 
  if 
  any, 
  

   survive 
  the 
  winter." 
  (Seventh 
  report.) 
  In 
  his 
  eighth 
  report 
  he 
  says 
  

   that 
  in 
  Kansas 
  certain 
  experiments 
  made 
  the 
  following 
  spring 
  demon- 
  

  

  * 
  In 
  November 
  a 
  correspondent 
  of 
  the 
  Colorado 
  Farmer 
  wrote 
  that 
  " 
  the 
  young 
  locusts 
  

   were 
  hatching 
  out 
  in 
  great 
  numbers, 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  eggs 
  deposited 
  during 
  the 
  present 
  

   season 
  were 
  so 
  far 
  advanced 
  -toward 
  hatching 
  that 
  large 
  numbers 
  would 
  be 
  destroyed 
  

   by 
  frost 
  during 
  the 
  winter 
  and 
  spring." 
  — 
  (Riley's 
  Eighth 
  Report.) 
  

  

  