Over a range of densities from 15 to 140 grasshoppers per m2, six persons counted grasshoppers in subsamples delineated by wire rings that encompassed 0.05, 0.10, or 0.25 m2per ring. Results did not differ significantly between personnel. The smallest ring size was the most accurate. Each increase in area per ring yielded a decrease in accuracy; the proportion of error increased with ring size but was constant over the observed range of densities. The 0.10- and 0.25-m2rings detected only 80 and 58%, respectively, of available grasshoppers. The larger rings obviously encompassed more area than an observer could simultaneously comprehend. A random spatial distribution was confirmed for grasshoppers on rangeland. Poisson confidence intervals therefore are appropriate. The precision of Poisson confidence intervals is essentially a function of the total number of insects detected in a sample. Precision can be improved rapidly by adding subsamples to assure detection of 40–50 total grasshoppers per sample; improvement after about 200 total grasshoppers per sample is imperceptible.