28 THE KElPOET OF THE No. 36 



To illustrate this point it may be mentioned that Camnula pellucida, one of 

 the main injurious species,, is stated to have the habit of remaining together 

 in swarms and of migrating over the country during the summer, often entering 

 long grass and grain fields which are quite unsuitable for oviposition. Under 

 ordinary circumstances, as soon as the females are ready to lay their eggs they 

 leave the main swarm and fly to special egg-laying grounds. These egg-laying 

 grounds or egg-beds, it is claimed, are usually situated on. flat, dry, alkaline pieces 

 of ground covered with close cropped grass, or on low, raised, dry, gravelly knolls. 

 It has been recorded that this species, although distributed over hundreds of square 

 miles of ground while feeding, will resort to a comparatively few acres of ground 

 for oviposition, where only a small amount of land is of the right nature for their 

 egg-beds. These egg-beds are said to be covered by these grasshoppers during 

 oviposition time, and can be detected from a distance by the smell of the dead 

 bodies of the males, which die soon after pairing. 



Camnula pellucida was common on the Eiske Creek range and seemed to find 

 the whole range so much to its liking that it did not keep at all rigidly to the so- 

 called typical habits mentioned above. It did not migrate in dense swarms, but 

 spread out from innumerable small egg-beds scattered all over the range. It was 

 often, also, observed to be much more common in some places than in others, but 

 was never observed exhibiting the typical migratory habits in swarms. Oviposition 

 grounds were scattered all over the ranges and eggs were laid in comparatively 

 small numbers in innumerable locations throughout the whole of the high ground 

 on the main upper range. 



The range areas in British Columbia, which from time to time become seriously 

 damaged by grasshoppers, are so large and the population so small that at the 

 present time it is not thought to be possible to conduct any control measures by 

 means of poison bran bait. It would also appear in addition that some of our most 

 injurious species will not eat the poison bran bait. The use of hopper-catchers 

 is also considered impractical on account of the enormous areas involved on the 

 British Columbia ranges. The only use that could be made of these machines 

 would be on the small dry farms, where they could probably be used to advantage 

 on the young grain. 



Sufficient data have not been gathered at present to give any definite statement 

 as to the effect of the natural control agencies, such as parasites and weather 

 conditions, upon a locust outbreak under range conditions. Probably weather 

 conditions at the time of emergence of the young nymphs from their eggs is the 

 chief controlling agent. To what extent the parasitic and predaceous insects 

 help in controlling the locusts needs further study. Birds undoubtedly destroy 

 large numbers. The fungus disease, undoubtedly Empusa grylli, in the Chilcotin 

 district only attacked Camnula pellucida. Other species equally common and 

 closely associated with Camnula pellucida appeared to be immune to the disease. 

 It is hoped that further information on these points will be available at a later 

 date. 



Our chief hope of improving our ranges, and thereby increasing the number 

 of our cattle, would seem to be in an organized system of range rotation where 

 sufficient fences are present to keep the cattle off portions of the range during 

 the growing and seeding seasons of the grasses. It is also believed that the main 

 injurious species of grasshoppers, whose most favourable habitat is a dry, depleted 

 range, would probably decrease considerably in numbers if the range was again 



