98 AMERICAN HUSBANDRY 



animals. A late Pennsylvania journal has assorted 

 that the Hcssian-fly deprives itself of its wings pre- 

 vious to depositing its eggs within the leaf plant. 

 We have observed the habits of this insect with 

 toine care, but have never noticed such a shedding 

 of the wings. We do not deem it incredible, how- 

 ever, as an instance perfectly analogous occurs in 

 the case of the female of the common grasshopper, 

 Gryllus tetligonia, which, as every one may have no- 

 ticed, deprives herself, or is deprived of her wings 

 in such a manner that the mere slumps of them 

 are left, which form no hinderance to the body in 

 penetrating the ground and depositing the eggs. 

 Notwithstanding the supposed origin of the Hessian- 

 fly, it remains uncertain whether the insect was 

 known in Europe at that time, though it has since 

 •become generally known. 



The wheat-fly, that produces the worm in the ear, 

 and which promises to become the great enemy of 

 the wlieat grower, since, as far as it has spread, it 

 rarely fails of proving fatal to the crop, has but lately 

 appeared among us ; and its habits do not appear to 

 be well understood, even in those sections where it 

 first attracted notice, which was in the vicinity of 

 th^ North River. This fly has been described by 

 difTerent observers as red, green, orange-coloured, 

 yellowish-red, and dark coloured ; and the probabil- 

 ity is, that more than one variety of the same spe- 

 cies act as depredators. We have observed them 

 carefully while in the act of depositing their eggs 

 on spring wheat; and we have detected a similar 

 worm, the product of a similar fly, in ripe berries of 

 the raspberry and blackberry kinds. The fly is in 

 general orange-coloured, with a greenish tinge, 

 which in certain lights gives a rather changeable 

 appearance, and is provided with a retrr.ctile oviposi- 

 tor, which, when not in use, is partially folded under 

 its belly, very much in the manner of that of the 

 common bot-fly of horses. This instrument is used 



