. Circular. Insect pests; Insect pests. shown in figure 4, which ilkistrates the oviposition of the Rocky Mountain grasshopper or locust. The females seem to prefer a mod- erately compact, rather damp but not wet soil which is rarely dis- turbed by the plow or other cultivating implement. It will thus be seen that the alfalfa fields throughout the irrigated sections consti- tute an ideal breeding ground. Winter is passed in the egg state, the young hatching in spring and reaching maturity in summer, and there is but one annual generation. Neither of the two species is migratory. Their flight i
. Circular. Insect pests; Insect pests. shown in figure 4, which ilkistrates the oviposition of the Rocky Mountain grasshopper or locust. The females seem to prefer a mod- erately compact, rather damp but not wet soil which is rarely dis- turbed by the plow or other cultivating implement. It will thus be seen that the alfalfa fields throughout the irrigated sections consti- tute an ideal breeding ground. Winter is passed in the egg state, the young hatching in spring and reaching maturity in summer, and there is but one annual generation. Neither of the two species is migratory. Their flight is rather clumsy, and they do not remain long on the wing before alighting. NATURAL ENEMIES. Upward of 100 species of birds are known to feed to a greater or less extent upon grasshoppers, but probabh- the most useful in this ^^ direction are quails, prai- // rie chickens, the sparrow hawk and S w a i n s o n hawk, the loggerhead shrike, all cuckoos, the cowbird, all blackbirds and meadowlarks, the catbird, and red-headed woodpecker. That do- mestic fowls are espe- cially fond of these in- sects goes without saying. Skunks are very fond of grasshoppers, and are es- teemed by the Bureau of Biological Survey as the most useful of mammals; they therefore deserve protection rather than destruction by the farmer. Toads and prob- ably some of the snakes add these insects to their bill of fare. Of the insect enemies, the grasshopper mite {Tronibidium locus- tarum Riley) is often fomid infesting grasshoppers in great numbers. It collects under the base of the wings, sometimes causing them to stand out from the body. "Wliile these mites probably destroy many grasshoppers, it is possible that their value to the farmer has been overestimated. There are several species of parasitic flies that fre- quently destroy immense numbers of these grasshoppers. Of these Sarcoj^haga cimbieis Towns., 8. hunteri Hough, and S. geopglna Wied. (fig. 5) sometimes sweep these locusts off in myriads. Und
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectinsectp, bookyear1904
