424 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 



information communicated by him to me in various letters. The 

 latter gentleman has spent some time in carefully observing the 

 habits of the fly, during many years in succession ; and, having 

 fitted himself for the task by the study of the natural history of 

 insects in general, his statements may be implicitly relied upon. 

 Moreover they are corroborated by the observations of many 

 other persons, published in various works, which I have consult- 

 ed in the course of my investigations. Nor have I neglected to 

 examine every thing on this insect that has fallen under my no- 

 tice ; and shall hereafter allude to some of the contradictory 

 statements that have been published relative to certain parts of its 

 economy. 



The head and thorax of this fly are black. The hind-body is 

 tawny, and covered with fine grayish hairs. The wings are 

 blackish, but are more or less tinged with yellow at the base, 

 where also they are very narrow ; they are fringed with short 

 hairs, and are rounded at the end. The body measures about 

 one tenth of an inch in length, and the wings expand one quarter 

 of an inch, or more. It is a true Cecidomyia, differing from 

 Lasioptera in the shortness of the first joint of its feet, and in 

 the greater length of its antennae, the bead-like swellings whereof 

 are also more distant from each other. Two broods or genera- 

 tions are brought to maturity in the course of a year, and the flies 

 appear in the spring and autumn, but rather earlier in the South- 

 ern and Middle States than in New England. The transformations 

 of some in each brood appear to be retarded beyond the usual time, 

 as is found to be the case with many other insects ; so that the life 

 of these individuals, from the egg to the winged state, extends to 

 a year or more in length, whereby the continuation of the species 

 in after years is made more sure. It has frequently been assert- 

 ed that the flies lay their eggs on the grain in the ear ; but wheth- 

 er this be true or not, it is certain that they do lay their eggs on 

 the young plants, and long before the grain is ripe ; for many 

 persons have witnessed and testified to this fact. In the New 

 England States, winter wheat, as it is called, is usually sown 

 about the first of September. Towards the end of this month, 

 and in October, when the grain has sprouted, and begins to show 

 a leaf or two, the flies appear in the fields, and, having paired, 



