﻿D4 
  REPOET 
  UNITED 
  STATES 
  ENTOMOLOGICAL 
  COMMISSION. 
  

  

  MARSHALL, 
  LYON 
  COUNTY, 
  MINNESOTA. 
  

  

  When 
  flying 
  high 
  in 
  the 
  air, 
  old 
  locusts 
  always 
  go 
  direct 
  with 
  the 
  wind, 
  but 
  often 
  

   beat 
  up 
  against 
  the 
  wind 
  or 
  at 
  some 
  angle 
  of 
  it 
  by 
  short 
  nights 
  near 
  the 
  surface. 
  In 
  

   1865, 
  July 
  13, 
  a 
  large 
  caravan 
  passed 
  across 
  my 
  claim, 
  going 
  west 
  in 
  the 
  teeth 
  of 
  a 
  

   strong 
  northwest 
  wind. 
  The 
  advance 
  was 
  two 
  days 
  ahead 
  of 
  the 
  rear 
  guard, 
  and 
  be- 
  

   tween 
  them 
  there 
  was 
  at 
  least 
  a 
  grasshopper 
  to 
  the 
  square 
  inch 
  all 
  the 
  way 
  and 
  all 
  the 
  

   time. 
  I 
  do 
  not 
  think 
  they 
  went 
  quite 
  a 
  mile 
  an 
  hour, 
  and 
  they 
  eat 
  all 
  in 
  their 
  way 
  

   and 
  left 
  the 
  country 
  as 
  soon 
  as 
  the 
  wind 
  changed 
  to 
  the 
  southeast. 
  They 
  had 
  been 
  

   hatched 
  in 
  the 
  lower 
  valley 
  of 
  the 
  Eedwood 
  and 
  eaten 
  it 
  clean, 
  and 
  started 
  west 
  for 
  

   food, 
  and 
  pressed 
  on 
  as 
  fast 
  as 
  the 
  winds 
  would 
  admit 
  ; 
  and 
  when 
  they 
  could 
  not 
  fly 
  in 
  

   the 
  usual 
  way 
  they 
  flew 
  as 
  far 
  as 
  they 
  could 
  and 
  then 
  flew 
  again, 
  feeding 
  as 
  they 
  went. 
  

   The 
  same 
  swarm 
  of 
  locusts 
  will 
  fly 
  in 
  every 
  direction, 
  short 
  flights. 
  I 
  have 
  most 
  satis- 
  

   factory 
  evidence 
  that 
  they 
  have 
  flown 
  from 
  the 
  north 
  part 
  of 
  Lyon 
  County 
  to 
  Lake 
  

   Benton 
  — 
  say 
  40 
  miles 
  — 
  in 
  one 
  day, 
  and 
  returned 
  to 
  the 
  central 
  part 
  of 
  Lyon 
  County 
  

   the 
  third 
  day, 
  and, 
  after 
  remaining 
  a 
  day 
  or 
  two, 
  gone 
  east 
  and 
  not 
  returned. 
  

  

  They 
  do 
  not 
  fly 
  high 
  in 
  cloudy 
  weather, 
  but 
  will 
  go 
  from 
  one 
  wheat-field 
  to 
  another. 
  

   Do 
  not 
  fly 
  high 
  in 
  hard 
  winds, 
  and 
  never 
  are 
  seen 
  flying 
  except 
  between 
  8 
  a. 
  m. 
  and 
  7 
  

   p. 
  m., 
  generally 
  from 
  10 
  a. 
  m. 
  to 
  4 
  p. 
  m. 
  If 
  they 
  fly 
  nights 
  no 
  one 
  knows 
  it. 
  If 
  they 
  

   go 
  to 
  roost 
  they 
  are 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  spot 
  the 
  next 
  morning, 
  and 
  do 
  not 
  move 
  until 
  they 
  

   breakfast 
  and 
  the 
  dew 
  is 
  all 
  off. 
  They 
  only 
  float 
  with 
  the 
  wind 
  when 
  flying 
  high, 
  and 
  

   go 
  just 
  as 
  fast 
  as 
  the 
  wind 
  blows. 
  With 
  a 
  strong 
  glass 
  I 
  can 
  plainly 
  see 
  locusts 
  and 
  

   ■cottonwood 
  seeds 
  flying 
  together, 
  and 
  they 
  keep 
  the 
  same 
  rate 
  of 
  progress 
  ; 
  but 
  the 
  

   locusts 
  will 
  leave 
  the 
  cottonwood 
  seeds 
  to 
  the 
  right 
  and 
  left 
  and 
  go 
  below 
  and 
  above 
  

   them, 
  showing 
  that 
  they 
  make 
  use 
  of 
  their 
  wings 
  to 
  keep 
  up 
  and 
  gyrate 
  in 
  flying 
  ; 
  but 
  I 
  

   think 
  they 
  propel 
  ahead 
  none 
  at 
  all 
  after 
  they 
  get 
  high, 
  but 
  fly 
  forward 
  and 
  upward 
  

   very 
  fast 
  when 
  rising 
  from 
  the 
  ground 
  to 
  fly 
  away 
  or 
  for 
  short 
  flights. 
  

  

  As 
  to 
  how 
  far 
  they 
  fly 
  I 
  have 
  no 
  reliable 
  data 
  nor 
  much 
  basis 
  for 
  an 
  opinion. 
  But 
  

   we 
  can, 
  at 
  least, 
  judge 
  pretty 
  certainly 
  at 
  the 
  age 
  of 
  a 
  locust 
  ; 
  for 
  a 
  locust 
  breeds 
  but 
  

   once, 
  never 
  couples 
  until 
  it 
  has 
  flown, 
  but 
  does 
  directly 
  after, 
  doing 
  his 
  courting 
  flying, 
  

   and 
  does 
  not 
  live 
  long 
  after 
  it 
  lays 
  its 
  eggs. 
  So 
  we 
  can 
  judge 
  by 
  their 
  age 
  in 
  what 
  

   latitude 
  they 
  hatched, 
  and 
  by 
  that 
  give 
  a 
  good 
  guess 
  how 
  far 
  they 
  have 
  traveled. 
  Now, 
  

   those 
  that 
  came 
  here 
  in 
  1873, 
  June 
  17, 
  began 
  to 
  couple 
  as 
  soon 
  as 
  they 
  lit. 
  They 
  

   hatched 
  and 
  came 
  to 
  the 
  winged 
  state 
  far 
  south 
  of 
  this, 
  and 
  came 
  here 
  pretty 
  rapidly. 
  

   Last 
  summer 
  flights 
  came 
  here 
  in 
  August 
  (I 
  cannot 
  fix 
  date) 
  and 
  began 
  to 
  couple 
  as 
  

   soon 
  as 
  they 
  alighted. 
  We 
  could 
  trace 
  them 
  back 
  by 
  telegraph 
  as 
  far 
  as 
  Manitoba. 
  

   I 
  believe 
  they 
  came 
  from 
  Saskatchewan 
  Valley 
  and 
  hatched 
  after 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  June. 
  

   I 
  think 
  they 
  fly 
  above 
  the 
  limits 
  of 
  human 
  or 
  telescopic 
  vision 
  in 
  long 
  journeys, 
  and, 
  it 
  

   may 
  be, 
  day 
  and 
  night 
  for 
  a 
  thousand 
  miles. 
  — 
  [D. 
  F. 
  Weymouth. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Weymouth 
  evidently 
  speaks 
  of 
  a 
  movement 
  on 
  foot 
  where 
  he 
  says 
  

   "they 
  went 
  west 
  in 
  the 
  teeth 
  of 
  a 
  strong 
  northwest 
  wind." 
  

  

  Mr. 
  G. 
  S. 
  Coddington, 
  of 
  Dell 
  Bapids, 
  Minnehaha 
  County, 
  Dakota, 
  in 
  

   his 
  letter 
  of 
  December 
  10, 
  1877, 
  published 
  in 
  the 
  appendix 
  of 
  our 
  first 
  

   report, 
  gives 
  the 
  following 
  description 
  of 
  a 
  singular 
  movement 
  observed 
  

   by 
  him 
  : 
  

  

  The 
  immense 
  swarms, 
  of 
  which 
  I 
  had 
  just 
  kept 
  in 
  advance 
  on 
  the 
  route 
  from 
  Eed- 
  

   wood 
  Falls, 
  came 
  rolling 
  over 
  the 
  country. 
  The 
  word 
  "rolling 
  " 
  seems 
  to 
  express 
  the 
  

   appearance 
  of 
  the 
  movement. 
  The 
  movement 
  of 
  the 
  mass 
  seemed 
  like 
  a 
  great 
  roller 
  

   moving 
  over 
  the 
  ground. 
  They 
  would 
  drop 
  and 
  rise, 
  make 
  a 
  curved 
  flight, 
  and 
  drop 
  

   again. 
  

  

  We 
  can 
  understand 
  this 
  if 
  we 
  imagine 
  an 
  immense 
  swarm 
  moving 
  

   along 
  the 
  ground 
  by 
  short 
  nights, 
  those 
  behind 
  flying 
  over 
  to 
  the 
  front 
  

   and 
  alighting, 
  the 
  next 
  tier 
  or 
  portion, 
  which 
  would 
  now 
  be 
  behind, 
  mov- 
  

  

  