﻿166 
  REPORT 
  UNITED 
  STATES 
  ENTOMOLOGICAL 
  COMMISSION. 
  

  

  sistless 
  march 
  ; 
  they 
  were 
  especially 
  destructive 
  to 
  young 
  wheat 
  and 
  corn 
  

   in 
  early 
  summer. 
  

  

  Food 
  of 
  the 
  cricket. 
  — 
  As 
  may 
  be 
  seen 
  by 
  the 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  internal 
  

   structure 
  of 
  the 
  cricket, 
  especially 
  of 
  the 
  organs 
  of 
  digestion, 
  the 
  cricket 
  

   must 
  be 
  a 
  very 
  voracious 
  creature. 
  The 
  jaws 
  are 
  large, 
  armed 
  with 
  

   teeth, 
  and 
  adapted 
  for 
  cutting 
  leaves 
  from 
  twigs 
  and 
  for 
  cutting 
  grass. 
  

   The 
  crop 
  is 
  very 
  capacious, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  specimens 
  examined 
  was 
  stuffed 
  

   with 
  vegetable 
  matter 
  in 
  a 
  partially 
  digested 
  state. 
  Mr. 
  Thomas, 
  in 
  his 
  

   journey 
  from 
  Ogden, 
  Utah, 
  to 
  Fort 
  Hall, 
  noticed 
  these 
  crickets 
  in 
  great 
  

   abundance 
  along 
  the 
  route 
  in 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  June. 
  From 
  Worm 
  Creek 
  

   to 
  Bear 
  Eiver 
  the 
  large 
  brown 
  cricket 
  (Anabr 
  us 
  simplex) 
  was 
  very 
  abun- 
  

   dant, 
  in 
  some 
  places 
  almost 
  covering 
  the 
  ground. 
  He 
  noticed 
  on 
  Worm 
  

   Creek 
  this 
  cricket 
  climbing 
  up 
  the 
  bushes 
  and 
  eating 
  the 
  Cicadse, 
  which 
  

   were 
  equally 
  abundant. 
  Indeed, 
  this 
  appeared 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  habit, 
  the 
  Anabrus 
  

   devouring 
  the 
  Cicadse 
  whenever 
  they 
  could 
  catch 
  them. 
  They 
  are 
  ex- 
  

   ceedingly 
  voracious, 
  not 
  only 
  eating 
  the 
  Cicadse 
  with 
  avidity, 
  but 
  they 
  

   even 
  attack 
  the 
  crippled 
  and 
  dying 
  of 
  their 
  own 
  species, 
  and 
  devour 
  

   them 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  they 
  can 
  manage 
  the 
  tough 
  integument. 
  They 
  also 
  de- 
  

   vour 
  greedily 
  the 
  droppings 
  of 
  horses. 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  the 
  cricket 
  has 
  been 
  used 
  as 
  food 
  by 
  the 
  Ute 
  In- 
  

   dians 
  of 
  Utah, 
  and 
  still 
  is 
  by 
  the 
  Pi-Utes 
  in 
  Nevada, 
  who 
  eat 
  them 
  alive 
  

   after 
  pulling 
  off 
  the 
  legs. 
  They 
  also 
  roast 
  them 
  with 
  hot 
  stones 
  in 
  the 
  

   ground 
  and 
  then 
  eat 
  them. 
  

  

  Enemies 
  and 
  internal 
  parasites. 
  — 
  Though 
  these 
  large 
  insects 
  are 
  pro- 
  

   tected 
  by 
  a 
  dense, 
  tough 
  skin, 
  it 
  appears 
  from 
  the 
  observations 
  of 
  Mr. 
  

   Thomas 
  that 
  they 
  are 
  eaten 
  by 
  hawks, 
  and 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  frequently 
  ob- 
  

   served 
  that 
  the 
  gulls 
  of 
  the 
  Great 
  Salt 
  Lake 
  collect 
  upon 
  the 
  benches 
  or 
  

   terraces 
  of 
  the 
  lake 
  and 
  devour 
  them. 
  So 
  useful 
  are 
  these 
  birds 
  that 
  the 
  

   Mormons 
  once 
  passed 
  a 
  law 
  forbidding 
  the 
  destruction 
  of 
  gulls, 
  fixing 
  a 
  

   penalty 
  for 
  the 
  offense. 
  When 
  they 
  live 
  near 
  the 
  summits 
  of 
  the 
  m 
  ountain 
  

   the 
  ptarmigan 
  feed 
  upon 
  them, 
  as 
  Colonel 
  Berthoud 
  informs 
  us 
  that 
  he 
  

   has 
  found 
  the 
  crops 
  of 
  these 
  birds 
  filled 
  with 
  them 
  on 
  the 
  summit 
  of 
  

   Maclellan 
  Mountain, 
  Colorado, 
  during 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  October. 
  On 
  one 
  

   occasion 
  (June 
  15, 
  on 
  Worm 
  Creek), 
  when 
  the 
  crickets 
  were 
  so 
  numerous 
  

   that 
  they 
  covered 
  the 
  surfaces 
  of 
  the 
  smaller 
  streams 
  and 
  acequias, 
  a 
  

   large 
  toad 
  was 
  noticed 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Thomas 
  following 
  the 
  stream 
  and 
  eating 
  

   the 
  Anabri 
  or 
  crickets 
  which 
  had 
  fallen 
  therein. 
  

  

  So 
  far 
  as 
  is 
  known 
  the 
  Anabrus 
  has 
  no 
  insect 
  enemies 
  external 
  or 
  in- 
  

   ternal. 
  They 
  are 
  sometimes, 
  however, 
  tenanted 
  by 
  the 
  hair-worm, 
  which 
  

   lives 
  within 
  the 
  body, 
  coiled 
  around 
  the 
  intestine. 
  This 
  fact 
  was 
  ob- 
  

   served 
  by 
  Dr. 
  Hayden's 
  party 
  at 
  one 
  time 
  while 
  camped 
  in 
  Idaho, 
  on 
  

   Camas 
  Creek, 
  where 
  numbers 
  affected 
  were 
  observed 
  at 
  the 
  creek. 
  The 
  

   habits 
  of 
  the 
  hair-worms 
  have 
  been 
  described 
  in 
  the 
  First 
  Eeport 
  of 
  this 
  

   Commission 
  (pp. 
  326-334). 
  

  

  Breeding 
  habits. 
  — 
  Few 
  direct 
  observations 
  by 
  naturalists 
  have 
  been 
  

   made 
  on 
  the 
  breeding 
  habits 
  of 
  the 
  Western 
  crickets. 
  The 
  most 
  ex- 
  

  

  