The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1875-06-10
ABOUT THE GRAssHOPPER.

| The Rocky Mountain LOcust...Its V0.
racity...Its Natural Enemies...How
1t May BE Destroyed-.-As an Article
of Food.
PROF. RILEY, State Entomologist of
Missouri, recently delivered lecture on
the Rocky Mountain locust before the
Polytechnic Institute in St. Louis. We
make the following extracts from the re.
port of the lecture published in the
Republican Of that city:
he female Rocky Mountain locust is
provided at her abdominal extremity
with couple of horny scoops, with which
she bores hole in the ground, never
more than one inch in depth, in which
she deposits an oblong egg. These eggs
are generally deposited in rows. They
remain throughout the winter-very few
of them Matching in the fall-and most of
them begin to develop about the middle
of April. As soon as the young hopper
is free it is as confident and alert as the
old ones and can hop even better than
its parents.
1t experiences four moltings, leaving
complete shell each time attached to
some reed or other vegetable growth.
The wings gradually develop during
these moltings, being complete at the
end of an hour after the last melting
This development requires altogether
about two months.
There is only one species engaged in
the devastation between the Mississippi
River and the Rocky Mountains. There
is species other than the Rocky Noun
tain hopper, which abounds in this
country, but representatives of it are in
a very small minority. The only dis
tinguishable difference between the two
is that the other, or "red-leg" Species
has longer wings than the Rocky Mount
ain species. These wings, by giving it
great migratory power, make the red
legs more formidable than the others.
There is a new species in the Atlantic
States, which has done great damage
there during the past few years, and this
also has long wings. The professor had
named these the Atlantics.
The professor then proceeded to dis
cuss the peculiarities of these three
species and gave it as his opinion that
they were merely races.
The voracity of these insects can
scarcely be imagined except by those
who have seen them devastate in a few
moments field of rich vegetation.
Their flight may be likened to a heavy
snow-storm, the lowest flakes appearing
large and distinct, and those above grad
ually diminishing in appearance into
mere specks, leaving one to imagine
them extending upward to an indefinite
distance. The noise of the jaws of the
hoppers when they attack field is like
that of a prairie fire, cracking and rasp-
ing. They go with the wind, and when
there is none viii whirl around and drop
down in thousands and are killed in the
fall.
They eat anything-dead plants, dry
wood, the wool off of sleeps backs,
dead animals, and when one of their own
number becomes disabled they fall upon
him and eat him up before he has time
to die.
Their native homes are the high and
dry plains of Dakota and Wyoming,
where the vegetation is scant, being dry
prairie grass. In July the vegetation is
all burnt up in that country or else is
devoured by the insect. If these circum-
stances occur before they get their wings
they die for want of ability to travel
elsewhere for food. But if they have
their wings they rise and are carried to
the southeast and the Mississippi Valley
by the prevalent northwest winds. When
they arrive in this country they lay
their eggs, but their progeny brought
forth. here is weak and diseased and in
stead of increasing in number they die
out. Hence there need be no fear of
perpetuation of the pest in this country
because this is not it's home. The insect
will never reach beyond limit formed
by the line of the seventeenth longitu-
dinal degree west of Washington. The
country is not suited to it. Again, it
can only fly certain distance from it's
native country, and this line is about as
far as its strength will enable it to come
Until it gets wings it can travel only two
miles per day or less. Long before those
which are now at work acquire wings
they will be so diseased as to be incapa-
Bile of further harm, and when they do
acquire their wings they will fly at once
so far as possible toward their natural
home, so that in 1876 we will see moth
ing of them.
The enemies of the insects are four in
number The principal ones are two
winged flies, which, like flesh flies, pene-
trate their victim, lay their maggots and
leave them to eat up the fleshy portion of
the insect. Having killed it they leave
it, go into the ground and come forth as
other flies. These attack the insect
more here than in their home. The
other fly lays eggs on the hoppers, which
eggs hatch out with the same effect as in
the other case. Then there is little
mite which does like work as it does
upon our common house-hy in the fall
Then, again, a larger mite, which destroys
the eggs of the insect.
The game birds are the greatest ene-
mics of the hoppers. A prairie chicken
will devour in the year enough hoppers
to ruin hundred acres of vegetation
loads and reptiles are also terrible ene-
mics to the hopper. Hence, if the peo-
pie would stop their killing of the birds
with which the Eastern markets are
glutted, and stop the senseless war upon
toads and reptiles, they would have less
occasion to call for aid. Hogs and other
domestic animals also do good work in
this respect.
The destruction of the eggs is good
plan, and rewards should be paid for
each bushel of eggs collected. Where IT.
rigation is possible it can do an excellent
work, for if the eggs are soaked with wa
ter for few days they are killed Again,
when hoppers are young they can be
driven like sheep, and can be forced into
winrows of straw, which can then be set
afire with good effect. They can also
be fought well with heavy rollers. They
can be prevented, too, from entering
field by digging bitches. They can be
driven into bitches partially filled with
water, and then scalded to death. They
can be caught in immense quantities
with little labor. A few days ago
banker at Warrentown offered to pay by
the quantity for the insects, and in two
hours fifteen bushels were brought in.