EE PORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST 443 



being driven up before me, but no complaint was made of injuries 

 sustained, although they must have been of considerable importance. 



Species Chargeable with the Injuries. 

 As usual in the State of New York a large proportion of the injury 

 committed on the crops this season is chargeable to 31. femur -rubrum 

 and M. atlanis^ but in their destructive work they had nearly a score 

 of active assistants in other members of their family, which were also 

 unusually abundant, among which were Melanoplus femoratus, Circo- 

 tettix verruculosa, Camnula pellucida, Dissosteira Carolina and 

 Chimarocephala viridifasciata. 



The Present Condition. 



With the crops of the year for the most part harvested, compara- 

 tively little is being reported at the present of grasshopper injuries; 

 but as the creatures are still existing in force and will continue until 

 the coming of heavy frosts, much apprehension is being entertained 

 that in the absence of other as desirable food they will turn their 

 attention to the winter grain and entirely destroy it. There is reason 

 for this fear and in all probability it will be a consideration with 

 farmers, where the insects still abound, in their usual fall sowing of 

 rve and wheat. 



Will the Insects Abound the Coming Year P 

 This question, of deep interest to many, cannot be definitely 

 answered. When the M. atlanis apparently became domiciled in the 

 Merrimac valley in 1872, it continued to ravage the region for several 

 successive years, as before stated, but this may not be accepted as the 

 rule. Annual recurrences of a grasshopper scourge — as with that of 

 the chinch-bug in Illinois and other of the Western States — is depend- 

 ent largely on seasonal conditions, particularly the occurrence of 

 drouths, on the number of its parasites and predaceous enemies, and 

 on fungus attacks. Each female of M. femur-rubrum and M. atlanis 

 that survives in a healthful condition until their lives are ended by the 

 frosts of October, will have deposited in the soil about one hundred 

 e gg s - Quite a large proportion of these eggs will doubtless be de- 

 stroyed during the winter or before the time for their hatching in the 

 coming month of May. Those that hatch will be exposed to many 

 enemies and dangers — perhaps so many and potent that any unusual 

 abundance will be prevented. It can only be said, from present knowl- 

 edge, that in the event of severe drouths again prevailing during the 



