23 



Meteorological data throw no light whatever upon the problem, and I am 

 forced to content myself with simply placing the facts upon record, 

 leaving a solution of the puzzle to the future. 



The continued ravages of this pest in Ashtabula, Trumbull, Mahon- 

 ing, and Portage comities is even more perplexing, and its habits here 

 differ quite radically from what are accredited to this species over the 

 entire western country. Here, again, elevation offers no aid, as it does 

 not differ materially from that of the unaffected area of which mention 

 has just been made, and, besides, the much more closely situated coun- 

 ties of Summit, Medina, Wayne, and Stark, which have so far also 

 escaped attack, have very nearly similar elevations. Precipitation or 

 wet weather could hardly be expected to account for the unique fea- 

 tures of this portion of the problem, and lean not find any indication of 

 such influences. An examination of isothermal lines, however, shows 

 that this area is much colder than any other portion of Ohio, and that 

 in this respect it belongs in the latitude of Ontario, Canada, the tem- 

 perature of northern Trumbull County being near that of the country 

 about Detroit, Mich. While I have found the species breeding in wheat 

 fields in Ashtabula County early in June, the date of appearance of the 

 fall brood of young in this locality is uncertain. 1 While the species 

 breeds in wheat, the greatest injury is here worked in timothy meadows, 

 and not only does breeding probably take place here, also, bust there 

 are strong reasons for suspecting that it may live over winter and con- 

 tinue its attack a second year in the same meadow. Two or three cases 

 have come to my notice where the attack was begun on one side of a 

 meadow last year, and a part destroyed, ravages beginning this year 

 where these ceased last fall, and being carried on until the remaining 

 portion had been destroyed. At wheat. harvest, instead of going from 

 a wheat field to corn, as is usual elsewhere, the migration is, apparently, 

 to meadows, and I am unable to find that any material injury has been 

 done to corn in this section of the State, and have found the bugs in 

 cornfields but very rarely, if at all. That the species is here less 

 nomadic than elsewhere is also indicated by the abundance of indi- 

 viduals of the short- winged form, fully 10 per cent of the adults in 

 August having this character, so rarely found elsewhere to the south 

 or west. In attacking timothy (blue grass and clover are left 

 untouched) no attention is paid to either leaves or stem, the bulb only 

 being attacked, so that one may pass through a meadow literally alive 

 with bugs and not see a single one, but on drawing away the dead 

 leaves and rubbish the surface and about these bulbs will be found as 

 thickly populated as a small ant hill. As an indication of the gregari- 

 ous habit being retained by the adults, instead of scattering as is 



^n my return from the Buffalo meeting, August 28, ;i very few pupae and an 

 occasional adult, red and freshly molted, were observed, the greatest majority by far 

 being fully developed. Tbere were no young to be found and pairing was in no case 

 observed. 



