﻿PACKARD.] 
  HABITS 
  OF 
  THE 
  LOCUST. 
  629 
  

  

  per 
  {Caloptemis 
  spretus) 
  have 
  been 
  kindly 
  sent 
  me 
  by 
  Prof. 
  Samuel 
  

   Augbey, 
  of 
  the 
  University 
  of 
  Nebraska 
  : 
  

  

  1. 
  It 
  is 
  a 
  mistake 
  to 
  suppose 
  that 
  the 
  grasshoppers 
  never 
  fly 
  at 
  night. 
  In 
  August,. 
  

   18G6, 
  I 
  was 
  camped 
  on 
  the 
  Bow 
  River, 
  on 
  an 
  open 
  prairie, 
  in 
  Cedar 
  County, 
  Nebraska. 
  

   I 
  was 
  lying 
  on 
  a 
  robe 
  outside 
  of 
  the 
  tent, 
  the 
  moon 
  shining 
  brightly. 
  In 
  the 
  evening 
  

   not 
  a 
  grasshopper 
  could 
  be 
  seen 
  or 
  found. 
  At 
  1 
  o'clock 
  at 
  night 
  the 
  wind 
  shifted 
  from 
  

   the 
  west 
  to 
  the 
  north, 
  and 
  soon 
  the 
  atmosphere 
  became 
  perceptibly 
  cooler. 
  Suddenly 
  

   grasshoppers 
  commenced 
  to 
  drop, 
  and 
  continued 
  to 
  fall 
  for 
  nearly 
  half 
  an 
  hour. 
  In 
  the 
  

   morning 
  the 
  prairie 
  was 
  covered 
  with 
  them. 
  I 
  had 
  a 
  similar 
  experience 
  on 
  two 
  other 
  

   occasions. 
  On 
  the 
  Verdigris, 
  a 
  tributary 
  of 
  the 
  Niobrara, 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  Upper 
  Elkhorn 
  iu 
  

   August, 
  1867. 
  These 
  experiences 
  are 
  a 
  demonstraition 
  to 
  me 
  that 
  they 
  do 
  sometimes, 
  

   at 
  least, 
  fly 
  on 
  warm 
  moonlight 
  nights. 
  

  

  2. 
  It 
  appe.irs 
  doubtful 
  to 
  me 
  whether 
  these 
  migrating 
  grasshoppers 
  ever 
  move 
  faster 
  

   than 
  the 
  wind 
  carries 
  them. 
  In 
  August, 
  1867, 
  when 
  they 
  were 
  moving 
  over 
  Nortberu 
  

   Nebraska, 
  I 
  climbed 
  tall 
  cottonwood 
  trees, 
  and 
  let 
  loose 
  among 
  the 
  flying 
  grasshop- 
  

   pers 
  bits 
  of 
  cotton. 
  These 
  bunches 
  of 
  cotton 
  moved 
  or 
  were 
  carried 
  forward 
  as 
  fast 
  by 
  

   the 
  wind 
  as 
  the 
  grasshoppers 
  flew, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  direction. 
  In 
  June, 
  1875, 
  1 
  did 
  the 
  

   same 
  thing 
  from 
  the 
  cupola 
  of 
  the 
  State 
  University 
  on 
  four 
  different 
  days. 
  When 
  they 
  

   were 
  flying 
  thickest 
  the 
  bits 
  of 
  cotton 
  would 
  keep 
  even 
  with 
  them 
  as 
  far 
  as 
  they 
  could 
  

   be 
  seen 
  with 
  a 
  field-glass. 
  And 
  while 
  these 
  few 
  experiments 
  are 
  not 
  conclusive, 
  it 
  ap- 
  

   pears 
  to 
  me 
  that, 
  until 
  some 
  one 
  sees 
  them 
  move 
  faster 
  than 
  the 
  wind, 
  we 
  have 
  a 
  right 
  to 
  

   presume 
  that 
  they 
  do 
  not. 
  The 
  only 
  physical 
  exertion, 
  then, 
  that 
  the 
  grasshoppers 
  need 
  

   to 
  make 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  migrate 
  is 
  to 
  raise 
  themselves 
  into 
  the 
  air 
  and 
  to 
  keep 
  suspended. 
  

   The 
  winds 
  waft 
  them 
  into 
  (to 
  them) 
  unknown 
  regions. 
  The 
  height 
  to 
  which 
  they 
  

   often 
  rise 
  is 
  very 
  great. 
  On 
  the 
  18th 
  of 
  June, 
  1875, 
  the 
  column 
  that 
  passed 
  over 
  Lin- 
  

   coln, 
  Nebr., 
  was 
  within 
  50 
  feet 
  of 
  being 
  one 
  mile 
  in 
  height. 
  This 
  I 
  ascertained 
  by 
  trig- 
  

   onometrical 
  determination. 
  

  

  3. 
  It 
  is 
  probable 
  that 
  their 
  constitutional 
  vigor 
  decays 
  or 
  declines 
  in 
  regions 
  moister 
  

   than 
  their 
  native 
  habitats. 
  I 
  have 
  attempted 
  to 
  ascertain 
  this 
  by 
  various 
  methods. 
  One 
  

   experiment 
  was 
  to 
  attach 
  the 
  limbs 
  of 
  mature 
  grasshoppers 
  that 
  were 
  hatched 
  in 
  Ne- 
  

   braska 
  to 
  a 
  delicate 
  spring-balance, 
  and 
  ascertain 
  in 
  this 
  way 
  the 
  degree 
  of 
  their 
  physi- 
  

   cal 
  strength. 
  As 
  they 
  varied 
  a 
  great 
  deal 
  in 
  strength, 
  I 
  averaged 
  the 
  strength 
  of 
  ten 
  

   at 
  a 
  time. 
  The 
  following 
  is 
  an 
  example 
  of 
  such 
  an 
  attempt, 
  the 
  first 
  being 
  taken 
  from 
  

   Nebraska, 
  and 
  the 
  second 
  from 
  Northern 
  Utah 
  and 
  Wyoming 
  : 
  

  

  iNebraska. 
  TItali. 
  - 
  

  

  The 
  first 
  grasshopper 
  drew 
  1.50 
  ounces. 
  1.75 
  ounces. 
  

  

  The 
  second 
  grasshopper 
  drew 
  1.50 
  ounces. 
  2. 
  00 
  ounces. 
  

  

  The 
  third 
  grasshopper 
  drew 
  1. 
  25 
  ounces. 
  2. 
  00 
  ounces. 
  

  

  The 
  fourth 
  grasshopper 
  drew 
  1. 
  75 
  ounces. 
  1.75ounces. 
  

  

  The 
  fifth 
  grasshopper 
  drew 
  1. 
  50 
  ounces. 
  1. 
  75 
  ounces. 
  

  

  The 
  sixth 
  grasshopper 
  drew 
  1.75 
  ounces. 
  1.75 
  ounces. 
  

  

  The 
  seventh 
  grasshopper 
  drew 
  1.75 
  ounces. 
  2. 
  10 
  ounces. 
  

  

  The 
  eighth 
  grasshopper 
  drew 
  1. 
  50 
  ounces. 
  2. 
  00 
  ounces. 
  

  

  The 
  ninth 
  grasshopper 
  drew 
  2. 
  00 
  ounces. 
  2. 
  25 
  ounces. 
  

  

  The 
  tenth 
  grasshopper 
  drew 
  1. 
  .50 
  ounces. 
  1.75 
  ounces. 
  

  

  15. 
  80 
  ounces. 
  18. 
  80 
  ounces. 
  

  

  I 
  have 
  ten 
  more 
  tcibles 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  general 
  character 
  and 
  results. 
  Only 
  in 
  oue 
  did 
  

   the 
  two 
  approach 
  each 
  other. 
  The 
  highest 
  of 
  the 
  Nebraska 
  columns 
  came 
  within 
  half 
  

   an 
  ounce 
  of 
  the 
  strength 
  of 
  the 
  lowest 
  of 
  one 
  set 
  of 
  ten 
  from 
  Wyoming. 
  These 
  tests 
  

   were 
  mostly 
  made 
  during 
  July, 
  1875. 
  I 
  cannot 
  think 
  that 
  the 
  difference 
  in 
  strength 
  

   between 
  the 
  Nebraska 
  and 
  Utah 
  grasshoppers 
  could 
  have 
  been 
  accidental. 
  I 
  reaclied 
  

   the 
  same 
  results 
  by 
  the 
  experiment 
  of 
  ascertaining 
  the 
  length 
  of 
  time 
  that 
  the 
  grass- 
  

   hoppers 
  from 
  the 
  two 
  localities 
  could 
  live 
  without 
  food. 
  Omitting 
  the 
  columns 
  of 
  fig- 
  

   ures, 
  the 
  average 
  result 
  reached 
  was 
  that 
  the 
  Utah 
  and 
  Wyoming 
  grasshoppers 
  could 
  live 
  

   three 
  and 
  one-fourth 
  days 
  longer 
  without 
  food 
  than 
  those 
  from 
  Nebraska. 
  Vivisection 
  

   produced 
  the 
  same 
  results. 
  These 
  and 
  similar 
  experiments 
  satisfied 
  me 
  that 
  away 
  

   from 
  their 
  natural 
  habira.ts 
  the 
  constitutional 
  vigor 
  of 
  the 
  grasshoppers 
  becomes 
  im- 
  

   paired, 
  and 
  that 
  iu 
  a 
  few 
  generations 
  they 
  must 
  teud 
  to 
  run 
  out. 
  

  

  4. 
  Confirmatory 
  of 
  the 
  preceding 
  conclusion 
  is 
  the 
  following 
  observation: 
  As 
  early 
  

   as 
  the 
  spring 
  of 
  1865 
  I 
  noticed 
  that 
  probably 
  not 
  more 
  than 
  about 
  50 
  per 
  cent, 
  of 
  the 
  

   grasshopper-eggs 
  that 
  were 
  laid 
  the 
  autumn 
  previous 
  hatched 
  out. 
  Almost 
  daily 
  from 
  

   April 
  till 
  far 
  into 
  Juue 
  I 
  dug 
  over 
  some 
  small 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  ground 
  where 
  the 
  eggs 
  

   were 
  thickest. 
  Only 
  an 
  occasional 
  entire 
  nest 
  of 
  eggs 
  hatched 
  out. 
  Some 
  nests 
  would 
  

   hatch 
  out 
  in 
  part 
  and 
  some 
  not 
  at 
  all. 
  Late 
  iu 
  the 
  season 
  many 
  entire 
  nests 
  of 
  eggs 
  

   could 
  be 
  found 
  changed 
  into 
  an 
  apparently 
  gelatinous 
  mass. 
  In 
  the 
  spring 
  of 
  1867 
  a 
  

   still 
  larger 
  proportion 
  of 
  eggs 
  seemed 
  to 
  be 
  injured. 
  Segmentation 
  in 
  many 
  eggs 
  had 
  

   commenced 
  iu 
  the 
  fall 
  and 
  during 
  the 
  warm 
  weather 
  of 
  February, 
  and 
  in 
  many 
  nests 
  

  

  