﻿£30] 
  REPORT 
  UNITED 
  STATES 
  ENTOMOLOGICAL 
  COMMISSION. 
  

  

  and 
  southern 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  county. 
  These 
  hatched 
  during 
  May 
  and 
  began 
  flying 
  about 
  

   June 
  25, 
  1879. 
  

  

  July 
  :J0 
  and 
  31, 
  was 
  in 
  Sioux 
  Falls. 
  The 
  locusts 
  visited 
  that 
  vicinity 
  in 
  August, 
  

   1878, 
  depositing 
  eggs 
  from 
  the 
  15th 
  instant 
  to 
  middle 
  of 
  September. 
  These 
  eggs 
  

   hatched 
  most 
  numerously 
  from 
  April 
  25 
  to 
  May 
  15. 
  The 
  young 
  'hoppers 
  have 
  uo 
  par- 
  

   ticular 
  direction 
  of 
  travel, 
  going 
  wherever 
  they 
  could 
  find 
  anything 
  to 
  eat. 
  The 
  

   amount 
  of 
  damage 
  done 
  by 
  them 
  this 
  year 
  was 
  comparatively 
  small, 
  as 
  much, 
  being 
  

   •attributed 
  to 
  the 
  drought 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  locusts, 
  25 
  per 
  cent, 
  being 
  the 
  estimate 
  of 
  dam- 
  

   age 
  for 
  Minnehaha 
  County 
  this 
  year. 
  Full-fledged 
  'hoppers 
  were 
  seen 
  May 
  20, 
  and 
  

   swarms 
  were 
  flying 
  northwest 
  with 
  the 
  wind 
  June 
  11 
  to 
  July 
  7, 
  and 
  were 
  seen 
  flying 
  

   over 
  to 
  the 
  south 
  July 
  28, 
  but 
  none 
  have 
  stopped 
  here. 
  

  

  Union 
  and 
  Lincoln 
  Counties, 
  parts 
  of 
  which 
  I 
  passed 
  over, 
  have 
  suffered 
  very 
  much. 
  

   Wheat 
  was 
  almost 
  all 
  destroyed; 
  oats 
  had 
  suffered 
  severely, 
  as 
  had 
  all 
  other 
  small 
  grain. 
  

   Corn 
  was 
  looking 
  well, 
  but 
  in 
  some 
  places 
  a 
  second 
  planting 
  had 
  been 
  made. 
  

  

  Scarcely 
  any 
  means 
  have 
  been 
  employed 
  for 
  destroying 
  the 
  locusts 
  this 
  year, 
  a 
  few 
  

   of 
  the 
  farmers 
  using 
  coal-tar 
  pans 
  and 
  muslin-bag 
  machines. 
  Several 
  farmers 
  ''back- 
  

   set" 
  their 
  fall 
  plowing, 
  and 
  this 
  undoubtedly 
  destroyed 
  great 
  numbers 
  of 
  eggs, 
  as 
  

   there 
  were 
  not 
  so 
  many 
  'hoppers 
  noticed 
  on 
  such 
  fields 
  as 
  on 
  those 
  not 
  backset. 
  More 
  

   eggs 
  were 
  hatched 
  on 
  the 
  bottoms 
  than 
  on 
  the 
  higher 
  lands. 
  

  

  July 
  31, 
  at 
  Worthing, 
  Minn., 
  a 
  few 
  locusts 
  were 
  yet 
  to 
  be 
  found. 
  For 
  information 
  

   obtained 
  here 
  I 
  am 
  indebted 
  to 
  Mr. 
  R. 
  B. 
  Potts, 
  who 
  very 
  kindly 
  gave 
  me 
  what 
  notes 
  

   he 
  had 
  collected. 
  

  

  Swarms 
  came 
  in 
  August 
  and 
  September, 
  1878, 
  from 
  the 
  northwest, 
  and 
  deposited 
  

   eggs 
  in 
  new 
  ground, 
  and 
  preferably 
  in 
  low 
  places, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  beds 
  of 
  sloughs 
  and 
  ponds. 
  

   About 
  one-third 
  of 
  the 
  eggs 
  deposited 
  hatched, 
  beginning 
  early 
  in 
  April 
  and 
  hatching 
  

   in 
  batches 
  until 
  the 
  latter 
  part 
  of 
  May. 
  Full-fledged 
  locusts 
  were 
  noticed 
  the 
  last 
  week 
  

   of 
  June, 
  and 
  swarms 
  began 
  departing 
  about 
  July 
  1, 
  going 
  in 
  a 
  northwest 
  direction 
  as 
  

   near 
  as 
  possible, 
  the 
  wind 
  being 
  favorable. 
  'Hoppers 
  have 
  since 
  then 
  passed 
  over 
  on 
  

   a 
  northwest 
  wind 
  going 
  southeast, 
  flying 
  very 
  high. 
  This 
  season 
  the 
  young 
  'hoppers 
  

   traveled 
  to 
  the 
  northwest, 
  but 
  this 
  is 
  not 
  their 
  usual 
  habit. 
  

  

  All 
  the 
  wheat 
  and 
  about 
  one-tenth 
  of 
  other 
  crops 
  except 
  sorghum, 
  broom-corn, 
  

   and 
  pease 
  were 
  destroyed. 
  A 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  failure 
  of 
  this 
  wheat 
  crop 
  is 
  attributa- 
  

   ble 
  to 
  poor 
  seed. 
  

  

  Crops 
  on 
  sod-land 
  were 
  injured; 
  most 
  of 
  those 
  on 
  old, 
  well-cultivated 
  ground 
  es- 
  

   caped 
  with 
  not 
  much 
  injury. 
  

  

  Many 
  'hoppers 
  died 
  about 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  the 
  last 
  molt. 
  The 
  dead 
  bodies 
  had 
  a 
  de- 
  

   cayed 
  appearance 
  just 
  back 
  of 
  the 
  thorax 
  shield 
  — 
  no 
  grubs 
  were 
  formed 
  in 
  the 
  bodies. 
  

  

  The 
  silky 
  mite 
  destroyed 
  numbers 
  of 
  the 
  eggs 
  and 
  also 
  preyed 
  upon 
  full-grown 
  lo- 
  

   custs 
  when 
  in 
  its 
  more 
  mature 
  state. 
  Dragging 
  and 
  harrowing 
  the 
  ground 
  in 
  the 
  fall 
  

   and 
  winter 
  exposed 
  the 
  eggs 
  to 
  birds, 
  and 
  the 
  action 
  of 
  the 
  weather 
  which 
  by 
  alter- 
  

   nate 
  freezing 
  and 
  thawing 
  destroyed 
  them. 
  

  

  Farmers 
  have 
  employed 
  no 
  means 
  of 
  destroying 
  the 
  young 
  locusts 
  this 
  year. 
  

  

  August 
  1, 
  1879, 
  I 
  arrived 
  in 
  Yankton, 
  Dak., 
  and 
  am 
  greatly 
  indebted 
  to 
  Mr. 
  A. 
  W. 
  

   Barber 
  for 
  information 
  and 
  assistance. 
  

  

  From 
  September 
  15 
  to 
  20, 
  1878, 
  the 
  locusts 
  arrived 
  here 
  and 
  immediately 
  began 
  de- 
  

   positing 
  eggs, 
  preferably 
  in 
  the 
  cultivated 
  porous 
  soils 
  of 
  the 
  bottoms 
  along 
  streams. 
  

   Very 
  few 
  eggs 
  were 
  placed 
  in 
  grassy 
  or 
  woody 
  places. 
  

  

  April 
  11, 
  1879, 
  young 
  'hoppers 
  were 
  first 
  seen 
  in 
  sunny 
  places. 
  From 
  this 
  time 
  until 
  

   the 
  latter 
  part 
  of 
  May 
  they 
  were 
  hatching 
  in 
  batches, 
  caused 
  by 
  the 
  deep 
  plowing 
  of 
  

   some 
  of 
  the 
  farmers. 
  

  

  Full 
  wiugs 
  were 
  obtained 
  from 
  about 
  June 
  15 
  to 
  the 
  latter 
  part 
  of 
  July. 
  They 
  com- 
  

   inenced 
  flying 
  during 
  the 
  first 
  week 
  of 
  July, 
  going 
  to 
  the 
  south 
  with 
  the 
  wind. 
  Other 
  

   swarms 
  were 
  noticed 
  flying 
  over, 
  going 
  to 
  the 
  south 
  and 
  west. 
  The 
  prevailing 
  winds, 
  

   as 
  noted 
  by 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  Signal 
  Service 
  at 
  Yankton, 
  for 
  June, 
  July, 
  and 
  August 
  

   were 
  as 
  follows: 
  June, 
  to 
  the 
  southeast 
  ; 
  July, 
  to 
  the 
  south 
  70 
  times, 
  to 
  the 
  southeast 
  

   44 
  times, 
  out 
  of 
  217 
  observations 
  ; 
  August, 
  to 
  the 
  south, 
  but 
  nearly 
  evenly 
  distributed 
  

   among 
  the 
  different 
  directions. 
  

  

  Crops 
  damaged 
  most 
  are 
  wheat, 
  of 
  which 
  about 
  50 
  per 
  cent, 
  is 
  destroyed 
  ; 
  oats, 
  25 
  

   per 
  cent. 
  ; 
  and 
  corn 
  to 
  a 
  considerable 
  extent. 
  

  

  Three 
  miles 
  north 
  of 
  Yankton, 
  on 
  the 
  farm 
  of 
  Mr. 
  Cribbs, 
  the 
  damage 
  was 
  not 
  so 
  

   great, 
  while 
  on 
  the 
  farm 
  of 
  Mr. 
  Peter 
  Huber, 
  15 
  miles 
  north, 
  the 
  damage 
  was 
  very 
  

   extensive. 
  Mr. 
  Huber 
  said 
  he 
  had 
  sown 
  200 
  bushels 
  of 
  wheat, 
  and 
  expected 
  to 
  har- 
  

   vest 
  about 
  50 
  bushels. 
  

  

  Sorghum, 
  broom-corn, 
  and 
  pease 
  escaped 
  injury; 
  onions 
  and 
  tobacco 
  were 
  mostly 
  

   eaten. 
  

  

  In 
  1876 
  the 
  locusts 
  hatched 
  very 
  numerously, 
  but 
  did 
  not 
  do 
  a 
  great 
  amount 
  of 
  dam- 
  

   age. 
  The 
  red 
  mites 
  and 
  wet 
  season, 
  with 
  other 
  causes, 
  prevented 
  their 
  eating 
  exten- 
  

   sively. 
  

  

  In 
  1877 
  the 
  eggs 
  were 
  destroyed 
  by 
  silky 
  mite 
  and 
  chickens. 
  Mr. 
  A. 
  W. 
  Barber 
  

   found 
  about 
  1,200 
  eggs 
  to 
  the 
  square 
  foot 
  in*1877. 
  

  

  