89 

 THE GRASSHOPPER DISEASE IN COLORADO. 



By C. P. Gillette, Fort Collins, Colo. 



In Bulletin 4 (p. 28) of the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Sta- 

 tion Dr. Lugger figures Melanoplus bivittatus as clinging after death 

 to the top of some plant where it died of a fungous disease. So far as 

 I am aware, there are no records of grasshoppers dying in a similar 

 manner of a bacterial disease previous to the announcements in the 

 papers of the country of such a disease carrying off large numbers of 

 grasshoppers in Colorado last summer. Although I can say very little 

 in regard to the specific organism that causes the disease under consid- 

 eration, it will doubtless be of some interest to the members of the 

 association to learu of the work of the disease in Colorado so far as I 

 have been able to determine it. 



On June 20, 1895, I received from Mr. George E. Lee, editor of the 

 Brighton Eegister, a letter and a package, the latter containing a 

 few grasshoppers that had died clinging with all their legs to the tops 

 of alfalfa stems. The letter stated that grasshoppers were dying m 

 this peculiar manner in great numbers about Brighton, and that the 

 farmers were greatly interested in the matter and wanted to know the 

 cause. In reply it was stated that the grasshoppers were apparently 

 dying of a bacterial disease, and not from the parasitic attacks of other 

 insects. This letter was published in the Brighton Eegister and was 

 taken up by the Associated Press and published all over the country. 

 I recommeuded that all who had grasshoppers that were not dying of 

 the disease should obtain dead and dying hopper-s from Brighton and 

 endeavor to inoculate those in their own localities. Farmers drove 

 long distances, and those who were too far away to drive wrote letters 

 sending money for diseased grasshoppers. In this way the diseased 

 hoppers were taken into many parts of the State, as well as into sev- 

 eral surrounding States. I sent diseased hoppers to Dr. Lugger, of 

 Minnesota, and Dr. Forbes, of Illinois, but I believe neither of these 

 gentlemen succeeded in starting the disease in his locality. 



It should be said to the credit of Judge JS". H. Taylor, who lives upon 

 his ranch near Brighton, that he first discovered the disease, and that 

 he took a lively interest in scattering it as widely as possible. It was 

 from his place that the larger part of the dead hoppers were sent out 

 to infect those of other localities. 



August 14 I visited the ranch of Mr. H. T. Miller, living 4 miles 

 southwest of Fort Collins, where the grasshoppers were dying of the 

 disease. Mr. Miller said he procured about 100 hoppers from Brighton, 

 July 26, a few of which were still alive when received. He caught 

 about 100 grasshoppers from his field and confined them with the dis- 

 eased ones twenty-four hours and then allowed them to escape and put 

 in another 100. This was repeated each day for seven days. On the 



