26 



bold it would be soon determined by trials, and if sloping back it might 

 be that the underside of the shield, if coated with the tar, would capture 

 hoppers as well as the upper. As coal-tar can be secured in most towns 

 at small expense, and as the frame- for the shield costs but little, this 

 method should be applied at a cost of not more than 5 to 8 cents per acre, 

 and could be repeated two or three times during a season if either Grass- 

 hoppers or Leaf hoppers become plenty. 



It could be used in meadows or tall grass by mounting the frames on 

 runners high enough so that the grass while being bent over should 

 have plenty of room to pass under the shield, but would not be likely 

 to work well when pollen is flying from the grass blossoms or when the 

 seed begins to fall, as the tar would so soon become covered with the 

 dust and chaff. 



NATURAL ENEMIES OF LEAF-HOPPERS. 



But little is known regarding natural enemies for these active little 

 insects. I have found the common Cor iscns ferns very plenty in all grass 

 land examined, and where but few other insects were present to furnish 

 it food. When left in nets with Leaf-hoppers the latter are soon found 

 dead, while the Coriscus thrives, and knowing their very carnivorous 

 habits, there can, I think, be no question as to their serving a useful 

 purpose in killing these as well as other grass pests. As this species 

 does not have the leaping habit it is less likely to be destroyed in " hop- 

 per dozers" than the hopping species, and consequently these remedies 

 can be used with little danger of destroying this natural check to the 

 multiplication of injurious species. 



SPECIES OF LEAF-HOPPERS OBSERVED IN GRASS. 

 The Tenderfoot Leaf-Hopper. 



(Diedrocephala mollipes Say.) 



This widely distributed species is perhaps the most abundant of its 

 genus, and is unquestionably a source of much loss in pastures and 

 meadows. Professor Uhler states its range as "Texas, Colorado, Mexico, 

 and the southern part of the Atlantic region." It is one of the most 

 abundant insects in the Upper Mississippi Valley, and I have found it 

 in great numbers on blue-grass and on prairie grasses, where this must 

 have been its principal, if not only, source of food. Other grasses would 

 seem to serve it equally well. Professor Uhler says (Standard Natural 

 History, vol. II, p. 249): 



The salt marshes of the Atlantic States furnish places of shelter for it. where it 

 may be found on reedy grasses in all stages from June till October. 



That it prefers moist places is evidenced by its comparative scarcity 

 on high ground in dry seasons, and its greater abundance in the vicinity 

 of thickets as well as in low ground at such times. It is about one- 



