THE WHEAT-MIDGE. 



173 



At a later period appears a much more formidable 

 insect, called the wJieat-fly, or wheat-midge. Myriads of 

 these insects may be seen in wheat fields, just when the 



WHEAT-STEM-FLY. 



Magnified. 



VIIEAT-MIDGE. 



Magnified. 



ears of corn are bursting from their leafy covering ; this 

 generally happens in the early part of June, and then 

 it is that the wheat-fly deposits its eggs in clusters of 

 from two to twenty on the blossom of the wheat, choos- 

 ing the evening hours for the performance of this opera- 

 tion. The larvse are hatched in about ten days, and 

 immediately begin to feed upon the pollen, which gives 

 them a yellow colour. These creatures are exceedingly 

 small, and might be considered insignificant, were it 

 not for the effects they produce. Attacking the wheat 

 in vast numbers (as many as forty-seven have been 

 counted in a single floret), they completely destroy its 

 fertility, and cause the grain to shrivel and decay, at 

 the very time, perhaps, when the farmer had been con- 

 gratulating himself on its promising appearance. The 

 colour of the wheat-fly is reddish yellow ; the wings 

 are longer than the body, rounded at the tip, and of a 

 whitish hue, with coloured reflections. In a calm 

 evening, these insects fly about in undulatory clouds, 

 much in the same manner as gnats. 



A partial remedy for this evil has been providen- 

 tially given, or the loss of valuable crops would be far 

 more complete than it is. Minute as are the bodies of 

 the caterpillars of the wheat-fly, they are nevertheless 



