The Relation of Wind Currents, as Indicated by Balloon Drifts, to Cotton Flea Hopper Dispersal*

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Abstract
Catch on tall traps and traps attached to airplane wings as well as Croton weed destruction have shown adult flea hoppers (Psallus seriatus) as high as 2000 feet above the ground and that the dispersal of the insect is at least 20 miles. The prevailing wind currents in south-central Texas, as indicated by balloon drifts, are to the N and NE from the light-soil areas toward the heavy-soil areas. It is logical to believe that adult flea hoppers may transfer long distances from their spring host plants, which grow abundantly in the light-soil area, to cotton and other native spring food plants in the heavy-soil areas, thereby accounting for the injurious infestations in large areas of cotton which are comparatively free of initial infestations of flea hoppers early in the spring.

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