140 



THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Tree Blight, as "a fungoid growth from the larva 

 of the Melolontha or May-bug," as having long 

 been known to be of a vegetable nature. 



B. D. Walsh {Pi-ac/ical Entonw!o;iist, vol. ii, 

 Nos. II and 12, p. 116, 1867) refers to a larva of 

 the Ma^f-bug, {Lachnostcnia qncrcina) attacked by 

 this fungus. This specimen was sent by Mr. 

 Gilbert, of Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa. "When 

 found the shoot [fungusj was of a light green 

 color, and thrifty." " There were large numbers 

 of such specimens turned up by the plough, and 

 the root [fungus] came from the worm in exactly 

 the same part of the body in all." 



B. D. Walsh {^A nterican Entomologist^ vol. i. 

 No. 4, p. 77, December, 1S68). The writer refers 

 to this fungus, a specimen of which had been 

 sent to the Sedalia (Peltis Co., Mo.) Press by 

 Mr. W. B. Porter. This article is an abstract of 

 Walsh's article in the Practical Entomologist re- 

 ferred to above. 



American Entomologist (vol. i. No. 5, p. 92, 

 January, 1869) gives a communication of Mr. S. 

 H. Y. Early, of Va., according lo whom ihc White 

 Grub fungus is very common in Virginia, where 

 the negroes believe that it produces a white mush- 

 it)om which is poisonous and fatal to hogs. 



C. V. RWey (Scicntijic American, ]unt: 1, 1872). 

 A box with specimens of this fungus had been 

 sent by Mr. A. J. B., of Kansas, for determin- 

 ation, and a figure thereof is given, with an ex- 

 planation of the fungus growth. 



Mr. F. S. {Rural World, June 8, 1872,) writes 

 to the editors of that journal that this fungus was 

 very commonly found in Kansas in the spring of 

 1869 and 1872. 



T. J. Burril {Country Gentleman, August 27, 

 1874), while speaking of the depredations of 

 Lachnosterna larvae mentions that these grubs 

 are also attacked by a fungus " which ultimately 

 grows out of their mouth, three or four times the 

 length of the body of the insect, of course killing 

 it." 



T. J. Burril {Rural World, May 15 (?), 1874), 

 while speaking of a larva, which, " save its size, 

 corresponds perfectly with that of the common 

 striped squash beetle {Diabrotica vittata)" and 

 which was attacked by a fungus in a similar way 

 as the large White Grub {Lachnosterna fusca). 

 This fungus he refers to Cordiccps. 



C. V. Riley (6th Missouri Report, 1874, p. 

 123), in an article on the White Grub Parasite 

 {Tiphia inornata Say) mentions that the White 

 Grub "is at times extensively destroyed by a 

 parasitic cryptogamic plant {forrubia militaris 

 Tul.)," which Mr. W. R. Gerard of Poughkeep- 

 sie, N. Y., is inclined to refer to T. cinerca Tul. 

 On page 125 this fungus is figured. 



C. V. Riley (Rural World, June 12, 1875) pro- 

 poses the name uf Torrubia elongata for the White 

 Grub fungus, and gives two figures of it. The 

 specimens referred to in this article came from 

 various localities in Missouri. 



C. V. Riley (New York Weekly Tribune, Oct. 

 4, 1877), refers briefly to the development of this 

 fungus. 



Weekly New York Sun, September 12, 1878, 

 mentions the common occurrence of this fungus, 

 especially in the South and West, and the great 

 help this fungus gives in checking the numbers 

 of the White Grubs. A very primitive figure 

 accompanies this article. 



E. A. Popenoe {A'ans. Farmer, date unknown) 

 figures the fungus and briefly describes its ap- 

 pearance, and says that it occurs very numerously 

 in some locality, referring 10 Riley's 6th Report. 



THE HESSIAN PLY. 



SUMMARY OK ITS H.'^BITS AND IHE MEANS' 



OF CHECKING IT.' 



I 



1. There are two broods of the fly, the* 

 first laying their eggs on the leaves of the 

 young wheat from early April till the end 

 of May, the time varying with the latitiideM 

 and weather ; the second brood appearing ■ 

 during August and September, and laying 

 about 30 eggs on the leaves of the young 

 winter wheat. 



2. The eggs hatch in about four days 

 after they are laid ; several of the maggots 

 or larvae make their way down to the 

 sheathing base of the leaf and remain be- 

 tween the base of the leaves and the stem, 

 near the roots, causing the stalks to swell 

 and the plant to turn yellow and die. By 

 the end of November, or from 30 to 40 

 days after the wheat is sown, they assume 

 the "flaxseed " state, and may, on removing 

 the lower leaves, be found as little brown, 

 oval, cylindrical, smooth bodies, a little 

 smaller than grains of rice. They remain 

 in the wheat until during warm weather in 

 April, when the larva rapidly transforms 

 into the pupa within its flaxseed-skin, the 

 fly emerging from the flaxseed case about 

 the end of April. The eggs laid by this 

 first or spring brood of flies, soon hatch ; 

 the second brood of maggots live but a few 

 weeks ; the flaxseed state is soon under- 

 gone and the autumn or second brood of 

 flies appear in August. (In some cases 

 there may be two autumn broods, the 

 earliest August brood giving rise to a third 

 set of flies in September.) 



3. There are several destructive Ichneu- 

 mon parasites of the Hessian Fly, whose 

 combined attacks are supposed to destroy 

 about nine-tenths of all the flies hatched ; 

 of these the most important is the Chalcid 

 four-winged fly {Semiotellus destructor), 

 which infests the flaxseed ; and the egg- 

 parasite {Flatygaster). 



4. By sowing a part of the wheat early, 

 and if affected by the fly, ploughing and 

 sowing the rest after September 20th, the 



*From advanced sheets of Bulletin No. 4, U. S. E. C, by A. 

 S. Packard, Jr., M. D. 



