440 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. II, No. 6 
Meadows, of American Falls, Idaho, reported on July 22, 1910, that a 
fly had destroyed the grasshoppers which had been so destructive in 
that locality during the three preceding years. Unfortunately, speci¬ 
mens of the flies submitted with the letter can not now be located. 
Mr. C. B. Neihart, Coulee, Wash., in a letter to Mr. George I. Reeves, 
of the Bureau of Entomology, dated October 9, 1907, makes the fol¬ 
lowing statement: 
Crops badly injured by grasshoppers; latter now dying by millions. Inclosed speci¬ 
mens collected, some separately, others in bodies of grasshoppers out of which they 
came after hoppers were put in alcohol. Farmers say that 10 days ago they had no 
hope of getting crops, but now prospect is good. 
Mr. Reeves observed many specimens of Melanoplus biliturus Walk, 
and especially of sarcophagid flies in the fields in a draw at Wilson 
Creek, Wash., on June 22, 1908. He collected 10 flies, 8 of them having 
been determined by Dr. Aldrich as Sarcophaga kellyi and the other 2 
as S . hunteri. Mr. Reeves stated that he casually observed one female 
ovipositing on a Melanoplus, but he unfortunately did not describe the 
method of the oviposition. 
Mr. C. N. Ainslie observed grasshoppers swarming in alfalfa fields in 
the vicinity of Payson, Utah, in July, 1911. The following note was 
made by him at that time and is given in full because the flies that he 
observed have been identified by Dr. Aldrich as Sarcophaga kellyi and 
partially confirm the writer's observations: 
July 16, 1911. While in the vicinity of Payson, 65 miles south of Salt Lake, gra^- 
hoppers, mostly immature, were observed swarming in most of the alfalfa fields of 
that vicinity. Several species appeared to be represented. 
In connection with this grasshopper infestation, swarms of flies, large fellows with 
tessellated abdomens, were everywhere in evidence, being particularly numerous 
in the vacant spaces in the field that had previously been devastated by the ant, 
Pogonomyrmex. The numbers of these flies were so great that the hum of their 
flight was almost equal to that from a swarm of bees. Ten days later in the same 
locality the grasshoppers were found to be still extremely numerous, both in the stub¬ 
ble and in the alfalfa fields. Swarms of the same species of flies were also observed 
as on a previous visit. Most of the dead grasshoppers were to be found beneath the 
alfalfa stems, their bodies being now mere shells, dry and brittle, crushing with the 
least touch. On digging in the earth beneath some of these dead bodies a number of 
dipterous puparia were found at depths varying from % to 2 inches. The dipterous 
larvae, before transforming, seemed to seek damp ground, and in some cases did not 
descend vertically from the host. In one case a fresh puparium was taken directly 
from the body of the host, but that was apparently not a common thing. 
In one case four large dipterous larvae were removed from the body of a single 
grasshopper, two being present in several cases. One crippled grasshopper that could 
still jump feebly was examined and a small larva was found in its abdomen. 
The flies were present in enormous numbers, and as one walked through the alfalfa 
they would rise in flight, seeming to have unbounded curiosity, and at different times 
while I was lying on the ground taking notes in the field they would alight on me in 
large numbers. In several instances as many as from 40 to 50 were counted on my 
arms and shoulders, resting in the sun. On the wing they are as quick as a flash, as 
was shown by the manner in which they pursued the winged grasshoppers. 
In a stubble field adjoining the alfalfa in which I was making my observations were 
quite a number of the large-winged grasshoppers (Hippiscus ?) that would take wing as 
I neared them. In almost every case when one would rise to fly it was pursued by a 
small swarm of flies; in some cases by as many as a dozen, although the flight was so 
rapid that nothing more than a guess was possible as to the number of the pursuing 
flies. The chase was not a mere chance flight, for the flies would mass about the 
flying grasshopper just as angry bees will gather about one’s head in case of pursuit. 
Dragonflies (Odonata) were not molested in this way, and there seemed to be some¬ 
thing in the flight of the grasshoppers that invited pursuit. 
August 25, 1911. Studied to-day the grasshopper situation in the same neighbor¬ 
hood as before. Less grasshoppers were present than on July 26. The leafless stems 
