191 



HERRICK TO HAKRIS. 



NEW HAVEN, Ofct. 19, 1841. 



As you will of course need a description of the insect [Hes- 

 sian Fly], I give you the following, which I made long ago, 

 and which I now extract from a copy of my letter dated Jan. 

 10, 1834, to Dr. C. E. Hammerschmidt, of Vienna. 



?. Antenrxe corporis dimidii longitudine, porrectai, moniliformes, teretes, 

 vertic'dlato-p'doscc, 1710 articulates; articulus primus turbinatus, secundus 

 g/obosus, sequentes ovati non pediccllati. Caput parvum; oculi magni, lunati, 

 nigri, conflucntes. Thorax gibbus, niger, politus. Abdomen fulvum, pilis 

 atris ; ovipositor roseus. Pedeselonc/ati,jiUformes,tarsorum articulus basalts 

 perbrevis. Alee atro-pilosce, basi fulvce., nerois tribus; primus, ab alee origine 

 ad marginem antcriorem paullo idlra medium recte tendit; secundus ab alee 

 origine ad apiccm recte tendit; tertius obscurus (forsan spurius) ab alee, 

 origine ad marginis posterior is medium flectus. Long. 12 poll. 



$. Antennoz fere corporis long itudine paullo recurve; articuli 17-19 sub- 

 globoxi, pedicellati. Abdomen clongatum, griseo-pilosum. Pupa elongato- 

 ovata, badia, glabra, undecirn lineis transversis ; articulus posterior scepe 

 bifurcatus. Long. .12 poll. 



Larva hyalina, duabus lateraUbus lacteo-albarum nubilarum seriebus. Ovum 

 hyalinum, fulvescens, lineare. Long. .02 poll. 



I have an impression that in one of my recent letters I stated 

 that the egg of the Hessian Fly hatches in about a fortnight 

 after it is laid. If I have said so it is an error ; it should be 

 about four days. The period will probably vary somewhat with 

 the state of the weather, but this is near the average. 



In regard to the Wheat Moth of the Middle States I might 

 have also referred to J. B. Bordley's Essays and Notes on 

 Husbandry and Rural Affairs, Phil, 1799, 8vo, p. 591. He 

 says " the moth-fly described by Duhamel was extremely numer- 

 ous, common and destructive in every year," until about the year 

 1772, etc., p. 296. He gives no description of the insect. I am 

 inclined to think we have it here ; at any rate, on one occasion, 

 several moths flew out of a parcel of heads of wheat which I 

 had laid away and had accidently disturbed. I did not secure 



