1 1 



THE FARMERS' CARIiNET, 



DEVOTED TO AGRICULTURE, HORTICULTURE AND RURAL ECONOMY* 

 Vol. f. iPliiladclpliia, April 16. 1§37. No. 1^. 



Tlic Observer— r^o. 5. 



THE Wheat fly. 



This favorite caption for numerous articles 

 in the popular periodicals of the day, affords 

 1 prolific theme for many a scribbler who 

 )nly writes to relieve the troublesome twinges 

 )f his caccethes scribbendi. Almost every far- 

 ner will say that he has often seen the wheat 

 'y i yet, probably, not one in a thousand 

 aally knows what it is. Their observations 

 ave been so imperfect, their acquaintance 

 n\.\\ the insect race ia so limited, that almost 

 very small fly, seen in autumn — whether 

 le fourth, or the fortieth of an inch long, 

 I'hether black, blue, or yellow i whether it 

 ies with two wings, or with four — is a wheat 

 y. These remarks are not intended to cast 

 jiy reflection on the good sense of my read- 

 ^B, but to indicate the necessity which ex- 

 its, for more careful and minute investigation. 



must be admitted, that much of what has 

 ien written on this insect, to say the least 



it, is of a very doubtful character. 

 lln order to treat it understandingly, I will 

 iquire, 



1. What is the Wheat Fly? and 



2. What are its habits 1 



When these inquiries are satisfactorily ang- 

 ered, and not till then, we may hope to 

 •ive at the best practical means of destroy- 

 ir the enemy, or of countervailing its effects. 

 What is the Wheal Fly? This insect, 

 jnmonly called the Hessian jly^ from its 

 8)poied native place, does not appear to be 

 I{)wn in the land of Hesse ; nor, indeed, in 

 I' other part of Europe. We must, there- 

 :'c;, look to American naturalists for what is 

 wn of its entomological character. Not- 

 istanding that the wheat fly seems an- 



wn in Europe, yet there is at least plaur- 

 VoL. I.— S, ' 289 



sibility, if not truth, in the opinion that it was 

 derived from thence. Thus, if it was not 

 known to exist in our country previous to the 

 revolutionary war-^if a quantity of straw 

 was, at that time, imported from Germany 

 for the use of the British troops lying at New 

 York — and if its ravages were soon after ob- 

 served in that part of the country — a strong 

 presumption is raised in favor of its trans- 

 atlantic origin. <See Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci- 

 ences, vol. i. p. 45. Farmers' Cabinet^ p. 24, 

 I have availed myself of the labors of those 

 who have observed and described the wheat 

 fly, and determined its place in the systems. 

 From these sources, and from my own obser- 

 vation, I have drawn up the following de- 

 scription : 



Class. Insecta. — Insects. 



Order. Diptera. — Having two wings. 



Genus. Tipula of Linnaeus. 



Chironomus of Fabricius. 



Trichocera of Lamarck. 



Uecydomyia of Latrielle.^ 



Cecydomyia. "Antennte filliform, join^;- 

 subequal, globular, hairy ; — proboscis salient;, 

 wings incumbent, horizontal." 



C. destructor. " Head and thora:ti black; — 

 wings black, fulvous at base ; — feet pale, co- 

 vered with black hairs." — Say. 



Larva. Body whitish, a little tapering to • 

 the tail, which is acutely pointed •,—feet, none> 

 or mere rudimentary tubercles ; — mouthy a 

 sucker; — incapable of progression. 



Pupa. General form similar to that of th& 

 full grown larva; — co^dr, reddish brown; — 

 entirely inactive. 



Peifect state. Body, black ■,—antennce, a 

 little tapering, about as long as the body, in 

 the male shorter, in the female longer ; — 

 thorax, large, protuberant ;—wj»^s, nearlj; 



