8 Maine Agricultural Experiment Station. 1919. 



heads of clover. I believe it is quite strictly a grass feeding 

 species and primarily adapted to timothy. 



Before the grasses head out they occur on the stems and 

 leaves but the larger part of the growth occurs after timothy 

 begins to head and the heads seem to be the favorite point of 

 attack. The insects cluster on the heads sometimes in numbers 

 to a single head and thrust their beaks down into the flowerets 

 evidently drawing their food from the tender parts of the blos- 

 som or from the forming seed. I have seen a female thrust 

 the beak down in the flower of a witch grass pierce the glumes 

 or insert the beak between and down into the anthers penetrat- 

 ing the anthers and causing them to burst and probably sucking 

 juices from the ovules. Mrs. Slosson's (1894) record for Mt. 

 Washington above 5500 feet is for adults and Mr. C. W. John- 

 son informs me that many insects capable of flight are carried 

 up by air currents and found at altitudes much above their 

 food plants. 



Dimorphism 



The species occurs in two distinct forms of females a 

 long-winged and a short-winged form but only one form of 

 male, the long-winged, has been observed. The short-winged 

 form of female is by far the most abundant and as this form is 

 entirely unable to fly and therefore is very definitely restricted 

 in its migration it is of special interest to note that it must be 

 the form which produces practically all of the eggs. 



Life History 



The eggs hatch in May or early June the time being deter- 

 mined in part by latitude and season. The exact date of hatch- 

 ing at Orono was not observed as nymphs were already abun- 

 dant at the time of my arrival June 12th and as the season of 

 191 6 was exceptionally late it is probable that the average date 

 of hatching would be the last week in May. Young nymphs 

 continued to appear until about June 2Sth and none after July 

 1st while the first adults appeared June i6th and were abun- 

 dant by June 26th. 



