[98] REPORT UNITED STATES ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION. 



The yonng have hatched in great numbers, but a great many have been destroyed 

 by the unusually wet spring. Still, enough remain alive, or to be hatched, to do great 

 damage. Indeed, even now whole fields of wheat and oats have been totally destroyed, 

 and corn, which is now just coming up, is being attacked. — [A. H. Gleason, Little Sioux, 

 Harrison County, Iowa, May 21, 1877. 



But my opinion, after riding to and fro over patches a dozen square miles, is that 

 around the timber and along the warm lands there have been enough hatched to do 

 verv serious injury, especially if warm, dry weather comes for the next month. — [J. E. 

 Todd, Tabor, Fremont County, Iowa, May 24, 1877. 



I think about ten days after you were here we had some few days of very warm, dry 

 weather, which brought out millions of the insects, but they do not seem to be as gen- 

 erally distributed this season as two years since. They seem to vanish nearly as fast as 

 they hatch ; where they were thick four weeks since there are scarcely any to be found, 

 and it is quite certain none have matured. There has been no injury done to crops in 

 this vicinity from the present crop of insects. — [A. W. Fellows, Parsons, Kaus., May 

 25, 1877. 



Within the past few days quite a number of grasshoppers have been hatched out in 

 this vicinity, in favored spots, quite thick. Yet, from indications, they seem to be 

 going the way that all young Kansas 'hoppers have gone this spring. We have had 

 immense floods lately, and I think this is helping us very much. — [A. S. Johnson, Land 

 Department A., T. and S. F. Railroad, Topeka, Kans., May 22, 1877. 



Yesterday was spent in the vicinity of Thayer. Found the locusts quite abundant 

 in j)laces. All were quite young and very stupid from cold. They were quiet most of 

 the day, and are doing no damage. To-day I have been to Cherryvale. Find fewer 

 locusts and very few eggs ; found some "which were about two weeks old. The days 

 have been cool and damp, and they have not moved about any. — [George F. Gaumer, 

 Cherryvale, Kans., May 26. 



A great many of the 'hoppers hatched previous to this date have been destroyed by 

 some parasite, but it appears that within the last few days the 'hoppers are becoming 

 more numerous, and a great many have serious fears that they will come in sufficient 

 numbers to destroy the major portion of our crops tbis year. They appear to be hatch- 

 ing more numerously in and nea.r the timber belts than any place else. Some of our 

 farmers are much downhearted, while others are still jubilant and in high hope that 

 they will not do us any serious damage. One thing is certain, if they come in such 

 vast millions as they did in '75, and remain as long as they did then, it will be too late 

 to raise any crop at all after they are gone ; but this portion of Kansas is in a far bet- 

 ter condition to stand a raid from these pests than she was in '74 after the drouth and 

 chinch-bug year of '73.— [W. L. Lanter, Garnett, Kans., May 28, 1877. 



I have received your circulars and bulletins, for which you ha-^e my thanks. A few 

 grasshoppers hatched in this vicinity during the warm days in February, and people 

 were very hopeful that the eggs would be so quicTcened that they would be destroyed. 

 Probably large numbers were, as they seem just now, for the most part, to be hatch- 

 ing on the dry, sandy knolls or knobs. For three or four weeks past they have been 

 slowly hatching in such sandy spots and along the roadside where grading has left 

 exposures of solid clay ; but until within a few days they have not seemed to be grow- 

 ing or threatening much damage. But on Saturday last Mr. J. D. Sells, a friend of 

 mine, who lives on the line between this county and Wright, six or eight miles north- 

 west of here, was in town telling that he had had twenty-six acres of wheat utterly 

 ruined by the insects. Similar stories, though not placing the damage so high, had been 

 told by other farmers ; but, as this is the season of " croaking," little attention has 

 been given the matter. I therefore went out to his place on Sunday (yesterday) to 

 see for myself. I found his story true in every respect. He had sown twenty-six 

 acres of wheat on high and dry ground — prairie, broken last season. It came up 

 linely, and gave promise of a splendid crop, and was at least six or seven inches high 

 when the grasshoppers began their work on it a few days ago ; but they had eaten it 

 all up except less than half an acre, and were closing in upon that very fast. A por- 

 tion of the field he had already plowed and planted with corn, and is to-day at work 

 to rcplow and plant the remainder. Not only had they oaten the Avheat, roots and all, 

 but there were none of the soft, succulent weeds left. They had left their "chips" 

 everywhere. The ground was as clear of vegetation as the surface of a brick-yard. 

 After thus eating the bulk of the wheat, the insects congregated on an adjoining piece 

 of rolling prairie, near a skirt of brush, on which the grass had not been burned last 

 autumn, no doubt for the purpose of living off the very tender young grass which was 

 springing up. During a high wind Mr. Sells set fire to this dry grass and made a. 

 holocaust of them. He thinks he must have burned at least twenty bushels, as the 

 ground was black with them. — [Charles Aldrich, Webster City, Iowa, May 27, 1877. 



In this part of the county, no locusts have hatched out ; only a few, which were 

 brought into the house and hatched by the stove. For the last six weeks the egg-pods 



