436 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. II, No. 6 
the grasshoppers were collected for the purposes of rearing and dissec" 
tion. Dissection revealed several small maggots in the viscera of the 
thorax and abdomen and tiny maggots under the scutellum of the meta¬ 
thorax. Flies were then captured and preserved for reference. 
On September 19 further investigations of the supposed oviposition of 
this sarcophagid were undertaken in a different manner. A female fly 
was caught, and upon dissection the uterus was found to be full of tiny 
larvae, indicating that the flies were viviparous. A search was then 
made on the bodies of grasshoppers for the tiny maggots, and they were 
readily found on the metathorax, just beneath the scutellum. More 
critical examinations and observations showed that tiny larvae were 
placed by the fly on the underside of the unfolded posterior wings of the 
flying grasshopper, the striking of the wing by the fly probably causing 
the sudden dropping of the victim. 
A large grasshopper (Schistocerca americana Drury) was captured, and 
when it attempted to fly, while being held by its hind legs, it was at once 
struck on the underside of the unfolded wing by several sarcophagids. 
By repeating this experiment in inducing it to attempt flight, the writer 
was thus afforded opportunity to observe more carefully the larviposi- 
tion habit of the fly. Several individuals of Melanoplus ailanis Riley 
and M. femur-rubrum DeGeer were also collected and the undersides of 
their wings examined to determine whether this habit of placing the 
maggots on the underside was usual. On no less than 32 specimens the 
maggots were found on the underside of the unfolded wing, with a few 
also placed promiscuously on the abdominal segments. An examination 
of 75 individuals of M. bivitiatus gave similar results. 
An examination of the folded wing of a grasshopper which had been 
struck by a fly and suddenly dropped to the ground disclosed the tiny 
maggots crawling toward the base of the wing, using the sides of the fold 
for a trough in which to travel. Thus they reach the base of the wing 
and the metathorax, where the body is quite soft and moist, and enter 
the body of their victim to feed upon the internal vital organs. They 
grow rapidly, maturing in from 10 to 30 days. Not all of the maggots, 
however, are placed on the wing; some are deposited on segments of the 
abdomen, and these enter through the segmental divisions. After be¬ 
coming full grown, the larvae crawl from the body of the grasshopper 
and enter the soil to a depth of from 2 to 6 inches, pupate, and later 
emerge as adult flies. 
While they are most frequently found beneath the host, the larvae do 
not always enter the soil immediately beneath the dead grasshopper, 
but have sometimes been observed to crawl a distance of 40 inches be¬ 
fore descending into the ground. 
The sarcophagid larvae removed from the uterus of the female, as well 
as those deposited on the grasshoppers, are quite small, tapering from 
the thoracic segments almost to a point at the posterior extremity. 
The segments are bordered by a heavy fringe of short, dark bristles or 
hairs that give the larvae a banded appearance. The head tapers slightly 
and is fitted with a pair of toothed hooks that project laterally. The 
hooks and bristles are used by the maggot in clinging to and working 
its way into the body of the host. The maggots, soon after entering the 
host, lose the dark-colored bristles, becoming of a creamy white color 
and retaining this color until their emergence from the grasshoppers to 
enter the soil. 
