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GENERAL E ..E E D E R S 
GRASSHOPPERS (Acrididae) 
Nevada. G. M. Shogren (March 30): Field examinations of egg beds of Melano- 
plus mexicanus (Sauss.) and dif ferentialis (Thos.) show that egg de- 
velopment is nearly complete, with segmentation and eye-spot stage com- 
monly found. > 
Arizona. 0. L. Barnes (March 10): Hatching of M. mexicanus began about Febru- 
ary 15-20 in Maricopa County. First-, second-, and third-instar nymphs 
were taken in the Tempe area on March 5» the greater number being in first 
instar. Only first- instar nymphs taken in alfalfa fields, the more ad- 
vanced nymphs being swept from sparsely vegetated places. E. E. Russell 
observed early instar nymphs in the Buckeye area late in February. First- 
to third-instar nymphs were observed in alfalfa fields and along field 
margins at several locations in Yuma County on March 2-3 • Hatching in al- 
falfa fields apparently began a week or 10 days earlier in Yuma than in 
Maricopa County. Nymphal populations were very low in all areas visited, 
indicating that only a very small percentage of the eggs had hatched up 
to March 2-5« No hatched egg pods found in one area in Yuma County, but 
scattering early instar nymphs indicated that some hatching had occurred. 
Hatching began at about the normal time, or slightly earlier, 
D. K. Scharff "'(March 21): Light hatch of M. mexicanus in progress in 
range-land areas in the lower elevations of Cochise and Graham Counties, 
with hatch. less than 1 percent complete over the area as a whole. 
MORMON CRICKET ( Anabrus simplex Hald.) 
Nevada. J. C. Hamlin (March 28): Hatching began in Sonoma, Mountain range, 
south of Winnemucca, during the third week of March, progressed slowly 
during the succeeding week,' and was more advanced in the lower, drier 
parts of the several canyons, where hatch ranged from 30 to 47 percent. 
Hatching had not begun in higher, wet portions of these canyons. Eggs de- 
posited by the lower of 2 bands of crickets that inhabited the study area 
(Elbow Canyon) during 1941 showed 30-percent hatch on March 23* Of the 
272 unhatched eggs examined, 17 percent were unviable and 43 percent con- 
tained nearly fully developed embryos, but 40 percent showed little or no 
embryonic development. The undeveloped eggs are being watched with inter- 
est, as they may possibly be those deposited after the adult crickets be- 
gan subsisting on the young succulent Junegrass ( Bromus tectorum ) , which 
sprouted early in August following rainy weather, rather than in the fall 
as usual. 
Oregon. L. D. Cowden (March 19): Eggs began hatching on February 13 at Warm 
Springs, Wasco County, and on March 8 in Gilliam County. 
COULEE CRICKET ( Peranabrus scabri colli s Thos.) 
Oregon. L. D. Cowden (March 19): Twenty percent of eggs hatched by March 7 
on east side of Deschutes River, Wasco County. 
EUROPEAN EARWIG ( Forficula auricnlaria L.) 
Colorado. F. H. Gates (March 24): An infestation, 3 miles from the original 
infestation, was observed in an auto camp last fall, near Denver. 
