1138 
Reference 
Ohio Experiment Station Bulletin 238. 
GRASSHOPPERS 
| Valley Grasshopper 
Edaleonotus enigma Scudd. 
General Appearance 
One of the smaller species, the adults 
being about one-fourth of an inch long. 
The general color is rich amber with red- 
dish hue around the eyes. The dorsum 
and carinae of the thorax are dark. The 
tegmina are mottled with black and 
dusky spots. The antennae and first two 
pairs of legs are concolorous with the 
body, while the femora of the hind legs 
are richly marked with black and the 
tibiae are pale blue. The young are 
nearly of the same general color, with 
the dark markings less pronounced. 
Life History 
The holes in which the eggs are laid 
are usually drilled in hard or compact 
soil. The eggs are laid regularly and 
f _ Essig. 
Fig. 1. The Valley Grasshopper (Hdaleonotus 
enigma Scudd). 
horizontally and cemented together, as 
well as being surrounded with a liquid 
cement which renders the mass water- 
proof. The young hatch the following 
spring as soon as it becomes warm, and 
they begin to reach maturity early in 
June. Pairing begins soon after and eggs 
are deposited from August to October. 
There are two forms of the adults, char- 
acterized by long and short wings. The 
species is very prolific and does much 
damage. It is only occasionally migra- 
tory. 
Distribution 
Throughout the lower San Joaquin val- 
ley, especially in the Turlock region. 
Food Plants 
All forms of vegetation, including the 
foliage of orchards and vineyards, un- 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
cultivated field crops, such as alfalfa, 
clover, grain, etc., and cultivated crops, 
such as vegetables, corn, potatoes, etc., 
are attacked. 
Differential Grasshopper 
Melanoplus differentialis Thomas 
General Appearance 
This is one of the larger hoppers, 
averaging one and five-eighths inches 
from front to the tip of the tegmina or 
wing covers. A very beautifully color- 
ed insect when fully matured. The head, 
thorax, abdomen and first two pairs of 
legs are amber or rich brown, the sutures 
being dark. The wing covers are brown- 
ish gray—the true wings being trans- 
parent. The hind femora are yellow with 
black cross lines, while the tibiae and 
tarsi are bright red, the former with 
black spots near the outer base. The 
spines and claws are black. The an- 
tennae are reddish with dusky tips. The 
nymphs are green. 
Life History 
Egg-laying begins about the middle of 
the summer. The holes for the eggs are 
drilled into the soil in bare and vacant 
places, especially in alfalfa fields. From 
60 to 80 eggs are laid by each female. 
They are protected from winter rains 
and freezes by an excretion of the female 
which makes the capsule containing them 
waterproof. They begin to hatch in the 
warmer spring months, appearing early 
in June, and keep up their destructive 
work until August. The young green 
hoppers, as they mature, acquire wings 
and assume a yellowish tint, thus causing 
the belief that there are two distinct 
species. The largest brood appears early 
in the summer, and the greatest amount 
of damage is done by the first of August. 
Fig. 1. 
The Differential Grasshopper (Melan- 
oplus differentialis Thomas). 
