THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 129 



ON THE HESSIAN FLY IN ITALY. 



BY H. A. HAGEN, CAMBRIDGE, MASS. 



As I have stated (p. 90, May, 1885), I had made inquiry of Dr. Anton 

 Dohrn about the existence of the Hessian Fly around Naples, Italy. His 

 kind answer, together with interesting notes by Dr. Paul Mayer, gives the 

 following information. 



From the two old books quoted by Sir J. Banks (p. 88), Corti is not 

 represented in the library at Naples. Ginnani (Dr. Giuseppe Fatta writes 

 Giannini), Part ii., cap. Ix., p. 137-209, gives: " Osservazioni ed esperi- 

 enze particolari intorno all'infestamente degli insetti." He speaks in this 

 chapter on several flies which attack the grain, among them one which 

 attacks the roots, but his statements do not allow us to decide with cer- 

 tainty whether some of the flies belong to Cecidomyia. Dr. P. Mayer 

 draws my attention to another work which was entirely unknown to me ; 

 the copies published are all lithographed : "A. Costa. — Lezioni di Ento- 

 mologia agraria precedute da un quadro generale della classi del regno 

 animale raccolte ed autografate degli alumni M. Pilato e M. Montanari. 

 Portici R. Scuola Superiore d' Agricoltura 1880, 4to., pg. 528, pi. 9." 



" Cecidomyia tritici, p. 514, sp. 



" Body black, sooty ; wings blackish, a little paler towards the base ; 

 legs brownish. The females deposit the eggs near the joints of the plant 

 and between the stem and the respective leaf The larvse, which are 

 hatched, live gregarious near the lower joints of the plant between the 

 leaves and the stem, in which they sometimes excavate niches by shaving 

 the wall of the stem. The plants for this cause sooner or later grow sickly 

 and never straighten themselves. When the larvje have completed their 

 development, while some give place to an agamous reproduction, others 

 in the very place in which tliey find themselves are transformed into 

 pupce, from which after a few days are hatched perfect insects, which lay 

 new eggs." 



It follows a short description of the larva. Tearing out the plants and 

 burning them is quoted as a remedy. 



" In our province (Naples) the Cecidomyia is not frequent. Accord- 

 ing to facts which are reported to us, they are abundant in the neighbor- 

 hood of Brindisi, as Signor Montagna has also assured us, who has sent 

 us specimens." 



