41 



know that tbey attack the stems of wheat and other smaller grains, but 

 we are far from possessing a full knowledge of their life cycles. 

 C/ilojvjjs ■prox/iita Say is known to attack wheat plants in Kentucky, 

 flies emerging in Ma}^ ; I have reared Elachijjtera longula Loew from 

 maggots in the stems of Pdnicum crus-gaUl in Illinois, the flies in this 

 case appearing late in August, and from both wheat and oat plants in 

 Indiana. It has also been reared from oats in Ohio ])y Prof. W. B. 

 Alwood. From wheat plants in Indiana I have roared Elachiptera 

 nlgricornis Loew, and from the same lot of plants 1 reared also E. costata 

 Loew, the latter having been reared from oats in Ohio by Professor 

 Alwood and from maggots found in a decayed cavit}' in the roots of 

 living garden radish in Illinois b}^ Mr. Coquillett. The extent to which 

 the larvse of the last species attacks and destroys wheat plants is uncer- 

 tain, for though I have reared them from volunteer wheat plants grow- 

 ing up in the fields I have never been able to separate their maggots 

 from those of Oscinis. I have reared Oscinistrlgt'ainina Loew and O. 

 coxendix Fitch from volunteer wheat plants in Indiana, and O. dorsata 

 Loew, 0. coxendix Fitch, O. andjrosa Loew, and O. trlgraimna Loew 

 from August-sown wheat at Wooster, Ohio. Oscinis carhonaria Loew 

 is treated in this paper under the head of the lesser wheat-stem maggot. 

 The larva3 of all of these except Meromyza closely resemble each other, 

 work in the young plants, and, some of them at least, destro}^ the cen- 

 tral stem before the plant tillers or individual tillers afterwards. The 

 larva? or maggots are small, yellowish white, pointed anteriorly, but 

 more blunt at posterior extremity, without jaws, but provided with a 

 pair of minute hooks whereby they rend the tender growth of the plant 

 and extract the juices. They may generally be found in the midst of 

 their work surrounded by the injured tissue and grass saturated with 

 the sap of the plant, and later on the brown puparia may be observed 

 about the bases of the 3'Oung plants iti late fall and even outside the 

 sheaths, and scattered on the ground in spring. They are often mis- 

 taken b}^ farmers for the ''flaxseed'- or corresponding stage of the 

 Hessian fly. 



WERE PKOBABLT ORIGINALLY GRASS FEEDERS. 



Beyond a doubt the larvae of these flies were originally grass feed- 

 ing, and we find them at present developing in the stems of grass, but 

 seemingly preferring grain at times, probably when the grain at the 

 time of oviposition ofl'ers a more inviting place for the female to 

 deposit her eggs with the assurance that her ofi'spring will be within 

 reach of an ample supph^ of food. Until the last half of the last cen- 

 tury the average farmer paid little attention to such matters, and, as 

 the flies were as now less thoroughly studied than other insects, there 

 was little to encourage the entomologist in attempting to study their 

 habits, as it is rather a thankless task to rear them and get their life 



