191 



HERRICK TO HARRIS. 



New Haven, Oct. 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. 



?. AntenncE corporis dimidii lonrjltudine, j^orrectce, moniliformes, tei'eies, 

 verliclUato-pUosce, 17-19 articulatce ; articulus primus turhinatus, secundas 

 globosus, sequenles ovati non pedicellati. Caput parvum; oculi mac/ni, lunati, 

 nigri, confluentes. Thorax gihhus, niger, politus. Abdomen fulvinn, pilis 

 atris ; ovipositor roseus. Pedes elongati, Jiliformes, tarsorum articulus basalis 

 perbrevis. Ala; atro-pilosce, basi fulvce, nervis tribus; primus, ab alee origine 

 ad marginem anteriorem paullo ultra medium recte tendit; secundus ab alee 

 origine ad apicem recte tendit; tertius obscurus (forsan spurius) ab cdoe 

 origine ad m,arginis posterior is medium Jlectus. Long. 12 poll. 



S. Antennce fere corporis lo7igitudine paullo recurvcB ; articidi 17-19 sub- 

 globosi, pedicellati. Abdomen elongatum, griseo-pilosum. Pupa elongato- 

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

 bifurcatus. Long. .12 poll. 



Larva hyalina, duabus lateralibus 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 reo-ard to the Wheat Moth of the Middle States I mi^ht 

 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 ' 



