308 



INSECTS AND OTHER SMALL ANIMALS 



FIG. 159. Hessian Fly. 



The Hessian Fly. This is one of the worst of in- 

 sect pests of the wheat crop. It is supposed to have 



been brought to 

 this country in the 

 bedding of the 

 Hessian soldiers. 

 It is a slender fly 

 with long legs, the 

 body being about 

 one sixth of an 

 inch in length. 

 It develops best 

 in cool moist 

 weather. The pupa of this fly is found inside the sheath 

 and near the joint of the wheat stem. The pupa case is 

 brown and resembles a flaxseed, on which account it is 

 sometimes called the flaxseed stage. It is before this flax- 

 seed stage that the damage is done by the larva, weakening 

 the straw at the point that the flaxseed is placed. When 

 the head of the wheat fills out and becomes too heavy 

 for the weakened straw to sustain, a wind may cause 

 whole fields infested by the Hessian fly to go down. 

 Fall plowing will turn under the stubble and prevent a 

 late brood from growing. In the south late planting 

 of wheat has lessened the damage by giving no wheat 

 stems for the larvae to find when they are most desired. 

 The Mosquito. This member of the order is not 

 only exceedingly troublesome, but it has been found 

 to be the means of conveying yellow fever and malaria. 

 Its mouth parts are shaped into a long bill. This 

 consists of a set of piercing instruments, by means of 

 which the female punctures the skin and sucks the blood 

 of her victim. The male mosquito is harmless. The 



