INSECT ENEMIES OF WHEAT 167 



hours in cool water, because heat will pass through the kernel 

 more quickly when it is wet. It is then soaked for ten 

 minutes in water at 129 Fahrenheit. It is not advisable, 

 without a great deal of experience, to treat much seed in this 

 way, as the germination of the grain is likely to be lowered or 

 destroyed. Treat only enough for a seed plat, and get clean 

 seed for the main part of the crop in this way. 



206. Insect Enemies. There are several insects which 

 occasionally cause great damage to the wheat crop. Only 

 the more important will be discussed. These include the 

 Hessian fly, chinch bug, grasshopper, and armyworm. 



207. Hessian Fly. The Hessian fly resembles the mos- 

 quito quite closely. It lays its eggs in the growing wheat. 

 When the maggots hatch, they work in the lower part of the 

 stem, weakening it and causing the head to fall over so that 

 it is missed by the binder. Fall plowing, rotation, and burn- 

 ing straw, stubble, screenings, and litter are all effective 

 methods of checking the loss from this insect. 



208. Chinch Bugs. Chinch bugs destroy a great deal of 

 wheat by sucking the sap from the plants. They are 

 blackish in color, with white wing covers, and are about one- 

 fifth of an inch long. They live over winter in the mature 

 form, under rubbish and leaves. In the spring the females 

 lay their eggs; a little later, the young appear as very small, 

 reddish bugs. The hatching period extends over several 

 weeks, and so bugs of all sizes may be seen at one time. 

 There are no effective remedies against these bugs in wheat, 

 except to burn or otherwise dispose of all rubbish in the fall, 

 so that the bugs will have fewer places in which to hibernate. 



209. Grasshoppers, when abundant, sometimes do great 

 damage to wheat. The eggs are laid in the ground during 

 midsummer, and hatch the following spring. The young 



