Herbert W. Miles 175 



and cereals from October till the beginning of June. The smaller, and 

 therefore younger, larvae work upwards and the older ones downwards 

 in the stem, the latter case being probably after migration from one 

 plant to another, or from one shoot to another, and just prior to pupation. 

 In only one case was a larva found externally and that on a stem of 

 Golden Oat grass, possibly it was migrating or seeking a site for pupation 

 — it eventually died after two days in captivity. 



In February, Apamea larvae were found in conjunction with frit 

 larvae attacking winter wheat ("Iron" variety) taken after seeds. 



In 1918 similar attacks are recorded on wheat and oats in Shropshire, 

 Hampshire and Wiltshire — being especially noted on ploughed up pas- 

 ture. One is inchned to the beHef that the larvae of Apmnea secalis feed 

 indiscriminately on grasses or cereals in almost any situation, be it 

 pasture, meadow, headland, hedgerow, waste land, roadside, or grasses 

 on bare patches in arable fields. An examination on May 31st of self- 

 sown wheat and oats growing amongst clover and beans showed that 

 of 28 tillers of wheat four were attacked, while in oats only one out of 

 24 suffered from Apamea. 



The larvae of the Agrotis spp., specimens of which were taken feeding 

 on the roots of perennial rye grass, were reported as attacking the 

 young plants of wheat and oats in Staffordshire and Shropshire in 1918. 



Triphaena larvae were taken feeding on the roots of golden oat 

 grass; they are, however, general in their feeding habits and often go 

 to rye grasses and meadow grasses. 



The larvae of Odonestis Rotatoria which feeds on various grasses was 

 taken on cocksfoot but was not observed to attack any cereal crop. One 

 Tortrix spp. was taken feeding on oats and on the tall oat grass: it was 

 small, about 8-10 mm. varying in colour from sooty to grey, sparsely 

 hairy and exceedingly active. It fed both internally and externally. So 

 far, attempts at rearing it have proved unsuccessful. 



Among the Diptera, the Hessian Fly was found exclusively on Cocks- 

 foot, as many as five pupae being taken from a single node. A specimen 

 was also found on couch grass. Examination of cocksfoot grasses in 

 autumn and early winter showed large numbers of empty pupal cases 

 from which the autumn brood had hatched, also many pupae, which 

 were kept and from which adults emerged in May. Records of attack 

 by this fly are as follows: (1917) "Attacks by this fly on wheat were 

 recorded from Durham, Lancashire (where it was abundant on a crop of 

 late sown wheat near Birkenhead), Shropshire and Oxfordshire (fields 

 of 'Sensation' wheat destroyed) "..."and in the Eastern Counties." 



