The Western Cricket. 
7 
soon as received, a number of the eggs were opened and the little 
crickets were fully formed and ready to emerge. On Dec. 12, 
the young crickets began hatching and seemed perfectly normal 
and active for a time, but artificial conditions did not agree with 
them and all died after living a few days. 
A letter from Mr. J. H. Yoast, dated March 13, 1905, stated 
that the young crickets had already hatched in millions on the hill¬ 
tops on the south side, where the snow was off. 
DESCRIPTION OE YOUNG CRICKETS. 
When first hatched, the crickets are a light flesh color through¬ 
out, except the black eyes, but soon become quite black with a 
broad, flesh-colored stripe the entire length of the back. Along 
the middle of this light dorsal stripe are two black lines separated 
by a narrow line of the flesh color. The hind margin of the cape, 
or pronotum, immediately above the front pair of legs, is very con¬ 
spicuously light yellow, almost white. Antennae somewhat longer 
than the body and black. 
MEANS OF CONTROL. 
NATURAL ENEMIES. 
The greatly increased numbers of this grasshopper are prob¬ 
ably due to continuous favorable conditions for their development, 
especially proper climatic conditions during the winter and spring 
months, and to a decreased number of natural enemies, such as in¬ 
sect parasites, birds and certain mammals. We have bred no para¬ 
sites from the crickets and have found none in their bodies upon 
dissection. Bears and coyotes feed upon them, but birds destroy 
them in greatest numbers. The birds I most noticed were hawks, 
sage grouse, and blackbirds. The blackbirds were specially de¬ 
structive, as they would gather in large flocks, and they did not de¬ 
vour the crickets entire, but would eat only a small part of a single 
cricket, as a rule. Ptarmagin and gulls have also been reported 
as feeding freely upon the crickets, and Mr. John H. Yoast wrote 
me last winter that the horned larks were very active about Dunk- 
ley devouring the eggs. 
ARTIFICIAL REMEDIES. 
This is a difficult insect to cope with successfully and yet the 
writer is satisfied that much can be done to prevent its depredations 
to cultivated crops. The remedial measures may be divided into 
two classes—preventive, and destructive. 
PREVENTIVE MEASURES. 
Herding. One of the simplest and most common of these is 
