[90] REPORT UNITED STATES ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION. 



seemed to thrive better, though they still developed, slowly, and did not eat with that 

 ravenous appetite which is so characteristic of the healthy locust. These conditions 

 proved most effectual in those situations where the hatching was retarded by the clayey 

 nature of the soil. Where the soil was warm and sandy, the locusts were less affected 

 by the weather, and developed much more rapidly. 



Birds. — Insectivorous birds were very effective in their raids against the pest. Great 

 flocks of blackbirds passed over the State, settling upon the fields, and making terrible 

 havoc among the locusts. It was amusing to observe a flock of these birds at work in a 

 wheat-field, lunching upon a few hundred millions of locusts. The birds hopping 

 about in pursuit of their prey, appearing for an instant above the green sea of wheat 

 to sink again below it, strongly reminded one of a school of porpoises at sea. In fields 

 where the locusts were very numerous, a visitation of a few hours from one of these 

 swarms was sufficient to destroy nearly every locust in the field. Large flocks of plover 

 were seen every day busily engaged at their meals, or jjassing over to other fields of 

 labor. All our most common sxoecies of birds, the prairie chicken, meadow lark, ground- 

 bird, quail, etc., seemed to appear in much greater numbers than usual. Everybody 

 remarked the extraordinary number of birds of all kinds that appeared to congregate 

 upon the fields and hatching-grounds of the locust. From their joyous notes and 

 lively movements it was evident that the birds enjoyed their work immensely. That 

 they destroyed great quantities of locusts was shown by their abundant droppings, 

 consisting in great part of the eyes, thighs, thoraxes, and other indigestible parts of the 

 yonng locusts. The amount of benefit which we derive from the feathered tribe is 

 impossible to estimate or conceive. During the spring months a man would be arrested 

 in the infested counties just as quickly for shooting a bird as for stealing a horse. 



Toads were found in great numbers where the locusts were numerous. On ex- 

 amination, the stomach of a large fat fellow was found to contain twenty locusts, 

 partially digested — some in the pui)a state and some full-fledged. As many more, per- 

 haps, were found in the intestines, more or less digested. It is readily seen that a few 

 of these animals in a field would do no small amount of good. 



A Digger Wasp was on several occasions observed stinging and burying the pupse, 

 depositing an egg upon each. 



FJesh-fly. — Near Solomon City, and at other places also, at about the middle of June, 

 great numbers of locusts were killed by the maggot of a large flesh-fly {Sarcopliaga carna- 

 I'ia). This fly deposits its eggs upon the locust immediately after molting, while the 

 parts are yet soft and damp. One insect was observed upon which the fly had depos- 

 ited three eggs, placing, them upon the soft hinder wing, near its base. The young 

 maggots from these eggs entered the locust before it acquired its natural color and 

 hardness. These maggots rapidly increase in size, feeding upon the internal soft parts of 

 the locust, leaving only the thin, hard shell, through which they escape into the ground 

 to undergo their transformations. Six or eight maggots are frequently found in the 

 body of a single locust. The locusts attacked by this maggot become slow in their 

 motions, listless and stupid, soon losing the power of flight altogether. They die 

 when the maggot is about half-grown, seeking shelter under old weeds or rubbish. 

 They are generally attacked at the change from the pupa to the winged state, but 

 cases were observed where the insect was attacked at the molt preceding this. . 



The first northward flight was from Texas, on the 1st day of May. This swarm, 

 which was heavy and extensive, seemed to pass to the westward of us. Small swarms 

 were observed in the western portion of the State at intervals during the latter part 

 of May, flying north and northwest. These flights were not heavy, and but few 

 alighted. The first flight which occurred over the central and eastern counties was 

 about the 13th of June. The wind was then blowing a brisk breeze from the south ; 

 weather warm and clear; locusts not numerous, and flying very high. Swarms con- 

 tinued to pass, whenever the wind and weather were favorable, until the middle of 

 July. The swarms were light, and very few dropped to the earth. These flights were 

 all toward the north or northwest. 



Manhattan, Kansas, August 17, 1877. 



Newton, Harvey County, March 6. — The people of this county feel a little serious 

 over the prospect of our little friend, the grasshopper. The pleasant weather in the 

 month just past failed to lure the little creatures out of their eggs. It is said a few 

 did hatch, but they were somewhat like hens' teeth — they were not visible. Much 

 I)lowing was done in February, and a few sowed a little, and nearly all are ready to 

 put in their small spring grain. The ground is in a very tine condition, and plows 

 easy; there will be a large spring crop put in. March came in with a cold northeast 



