No. 105.] 267 



16th of June I was informed by a neighbor, that it had beeii present 

 for some days in large numbers, in a field of thrifty winter wheat of 

 his. Upon repairing to this field, a small black fly, about one-third of 

 the size and much resembling the common house-fly, was pointed out 

 as the dreaded enemy ', and so universally has this doubtless harmless 

 species been for years regarded as the true wheat fly by the farmers 

 throughout this whole section of the " infected district," merely from 

 the circumstance of its occurring abundantly in wheat fields simultane^ 

 ously with the wheat- worm, that my companion was much surprised, 

 and disposed to be incredulous of my assertion that that was not the 

 wheat-fiy. On opening the flowers of wheat, however, the eggs of 

 the real marauder were found in abundance ; and a sweeping, with the 

 small gauze fly-net in common use by entomologists, betv/een the stalks 

 of grain towards their roots, immediately caught within it a number 

 of the winged insects. My comrade was little less surprised on my 

 pointing the real fly out to him, being scarcely able to conceive that 

 such a tiny fragile atom, seemingly a mere moat floating before his eye,- 

 could be that potent enemy that had spread such desolation over our 

 land. Several of the specimens thus caught, were of the spotted- 

 winged species. These I conjectured, until 1 afterwards came to 

 examine them attentively with the microscope, were only a variety of 

 the common or clear-winged species, else I should not have failed to 

 have regarded them more particularly. 



All parts of this field of four acres were found to be infested more 

 or less with the wheat-fly, but they occurred most abundantly along 

 one of its sides, in the field adjoining which, wheat had been grown 

 the preceding year, which had been considerably injured by this 

 insect. Such a host of destroyers as were here found, and the profusion 

 of eggs that had been already deposited, strongly indicated that it 

 must have commenced appearing in its winged state many days previous 

 to this time. 



The wheat-fly may be met with daily, from the fore part of June,- 

 until so late at least as the middle of August. Although it congregates 

 in swarms about fields of wheat at the time they are in blossom, it also 

 occurs in a great variety of other situations. It often enters houses^ 

 upon the windows of which it may be observed dancing along the 

 panes, sometimes in numbers. It may also be taken among the grass 

 of pastures, and of alluvial meadows that have never been turned up 



