44 
7 
“They make their appearance in the latter part of June, confining 
their depredations at this period to Spring wheat. So rapid is theii 
multiplication that in the course of a few days from the time of theii 
first appearance, whole fields are overrun by them, every straw being 
more or less infested. 
“They belong to the suctorial division of insects, and do their dam 
age by imbibing the juices of the plants which they infest. 
“The sucking instrument, as in other insects of the kind, consists o 
a slender, four-jointed beak, which, when not in use, is bent back un 
der the body and rests upon the breast. Upon that side of the beal 
which is undermost when at rest, is a narrow groove in which is con 
tained an extremely fine, bristle-like lancet, which is capable of bein| 
disengaged from its sheath and used as an instrument for puncturin; 
the straw. When a flow of sap has thus been produced the lancet i 
returned to its sheath, and the whole instrument is used for the pur 
pose of suction. Collected in dense clusters, chiefly about the lowe 
joints of the straw, with their suckers partially inserted into it, or ap 
plied to the punctures previously made, these little insects appear t 
repose in luxurious contentment. Meanwhile the grain, being d( 
prived of its necessary nutriment, becomes wholly blasted or muc 
shrunken, whilst the straw turns white prematurely and at lengt' 
crinkles down beneath the lancets of this infinity of phlebotomists. 
“When the wheat becomes too much dried up to afford them nutr 
ment, they leave the wheat field and may be seen at this time rur 
ning upon the ground in all directions in search of appropriate foo( 
Next to wheat they usually attack oats, then corn, and lastly timoth 
or herds-grass; and if none of these are at hand, they will subsif 
upon some of the wild grasses. The Indian corn is so rapid and vig 
orous in its growth that it is not usually much injured; yet I hav 
seen this season whole fields blackened with them, and large patch( 
of corn blasted and prostrate, as if a fire had run over them. 
“They migrate from one field to another by running over the su 
face of the earth. Nevertheless, when they are obliged to move to 
distance the perfect or winged individuals readily take to flight, an 
they have been seen flying in dense swarms. 
“The}^ are seen in about equal numbers in their different stages • 
growth. The younger specimens are found especially abundant i 
the earth to a depth of an inch or more, about the roots of the grai 
from which it may be inferred that the eggs are deposited in this sit 
ation, though I have not as yet succeeded in discovering them. 
“These insects present, in the course of their development, the fc 
lowing characters : The youngest individuals are vermilion red, tl 
thorax or anterior part of their bodies inclining to brown, and wit 
a white band across the middle of the body, comprising the two has 
segments of the abdomen. As they increase in size they beeon 
darker, changing first to brown, and then to a dull black, the whi 
band still remaining. The antennae and legs are varied with re 
dish. In their final or perfect state they acquire white wings, varii 
with a few black spots and lines. 
“So sudden is the invasion and so rapid the progress of these i 
sects that it is scarcely probable that any preventive or remedy f 
their devastations will ever be discovered. Yet it is an admiral 
provision of nature that those creatures which multiply at certa 
