REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST IQI5 59 



Development and habits of the pest. Small numbers of first 

 stage lesser red-legged grasshoppers, the preeminently destruct- 

 ive species, were found in sandy places at Karner on May nth and 

 had apparently hatched only a day or so before, since they were 

 by no means well colored. Young grasshoppers were most abundant 

 on the edges of a " blowout " where the soil was sparsely covered 

 with vegetation. Most of them were about three-sixteenths of 

 an inch long, one or two being possibly one-fourth of an inch long. 

 The next day many small grasshoppers, mostly well colored, were 

 to be found in sandy situations at Malta. Hatching of the eggs 

 by no means occurred at the same time and in some instances this 

 may mean the appearance of several lots or swarms at irregular 

 intervals covering a period of two to three or possibly four weeks. 

 The young grasshoppers display a marked partiality for clover, 

 defoliating or partly skeletonizing this first and then attacking 

 various grasses. Infestations in new seeding are such as to suggest 

 that the insects may have originated from eggs deposited in the 

 firmer grass sod along the fences. May 27th the young grasshoppers 

 were one-fourth to one-half of an inch long, and on June 17th most 

 of the pests were half grown, a few winged ones, perhaps one-tenth 

 of one per cent being observed. Pairing had already commenced. 

 By the latter part of the month practically all the insects had 

 developed wings. 



The two-striped grasshopper is a later developing species than the 

 lesser red-legged grasshopper, yet in spite of this, one light-colored 

 nymph about three-eighths of an inch long and recently hatched 

 was observed at Karner on May nth and was probably one of the 

 earliest of this species. Observations of last year show that most 

 of the nymphs develop considerably later than is the case with the 

 preceding species. 



Natural enemies. Grasshoppers are subject to attack by a number 

 of natural enemies, most of which escape ordinary observation and 

 a detailed discussion of them would therefore not be particularly 

 serviceable in this connection. We do, however, wish to place on 

 record two observations. 



At Corinth June 2 2d, Mr D. B. Young captured a species of 

 Chalcis, as it was attempting to oviposit in a third stage grasshopper. 



A large, predaceous wasp, Sphex ichneumonea Linn., 

 was observed July 23d at Saratoga, flying about holes, some three- 

 eighths of an inch in diameter, in a barnyard, and at least one of 

 these wasps was seen carrying a grasshopper. This species is one 

 of our well-known forms and in sections where it is abundant, usually 



