GRASSHOPPER OUTBREAK IN NEW MEXICO. 3 



was bred and reared upon this ground. In the same year he also 

 recorded : " On the evening of July 21 the locusts came from the west 

 down into Colorado Springs in countless numbers." 



In 1900 this insect invaded the town of Las Vegas, N. Mex., in 

 great numbers and crushed specimens were everywhere seen on the 

 sidewalks. 



In 1904 Bruner wrote, regarding this species, "A native of the 

 high prairies of western Kansas, Nebraska, eastern Colorado, and 

 Wyoming; not nearly so abundant as it was five years ago." 



The 1913 outbreak of this species extended over 400 to 500 square 

 miles, the prairie grasses, grain, and garden crops within this area 

 being in great part devastated. Herds of cattle usually grazing 

 within this infested area were forced to travel from 11 to 13 miles 

 for grazing facilities, and would return to their usual watering- 

 places only at intervals, varying from 24 to 56 hours. Freight and 

 passenger trains were repeatedly stopped by grasshoppers massing 

 upon the railroad tracks, this being frequent from the middle of 

 May until the first of July. 



The prairie grasses within the infested area were so completely 

 ravaged that hardly a surface depression of the soil could be located 

 which was not from one- fourth to completely filled with grass- 

 hoppers' droppings. 



DISTRIBUTION. 



This species is native to the western United States. Since Thomas 

 described the species from western Kansas it has been found in 

 Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Idaho, New Mexico, Texas, and 

 Oklahoma. 



SEASONAL HISTORY. 



The eggs of this species in New Mexico evidently commence to 

 hatch en masse during the first week of May, though a few nymphs 

 may probably appear during the latter part of April. 



Adults were first noted on June 4, and by June 24 the majority of 

 the grasshoppers were in the adult stage. However, third and 

 fourth stage nymphs were present in numbers up to the second week 

 in July. 



So far as known, this species has but a single generation per year, 

 the eggs being deposited during late August and early September. 



A MIGRATORY OR NONMIGRATORY SPECIES? 



In 1892 Kellogg stated that in Kansas this grasshopper is a non- 

 migratory species. 



