THE WESTERN GRASS-STEM SAWFLY. 



this name it was mentioned in his report for 1896 * with the further 

 statement that wheat straws containing Cephus larvae had been sent 

 in by Mr. John Wenman of Souris, Manitoba, who stated that the in- 

 jury done by them was very slight. Nevertheless the prophecy of five 

 years before had been fulfilled, since these grass feeders actually had 

 attacked small grain. 



In 1902 Dr. Fletcher reported, in a private letter, that he had found 

 the larvae numerous in grasses in the Northwest. In 1905 and 1906 

 Mr. G.I. Reeves, an agent of the Bureau of Entomology, noted the work 

 of the larvae in various grasses, chiefly Agropyron sp., in Wyoming 

 and the Dakotas, and in 1906 the same observer found the larvse 

 attacking wheat sparingly near Kulm, N. Dak. 



Fig. 2. — Distribution of the western grass-stem sawfly in the United States. 



August 31, 1907, Mr. E. O. G. Kelly, then an agent of this bureau, 

 noted a few wheat straws near Minot, N. Dak., that had been bur- 

 rowed by the larvae of Cephus. 



In 1908 Messrs. F. M. Webster and G. I. Reeves found the larvae of 

 Cephus working in grasses in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. In the 

 same year Dr. Fletcher again called attention to this insect, stating 

 that in the previous autumn it had appeared in central Manitoba and 

 in the southeastern part of Saskatchewan in much more serious num- 

 bers than ever before, and that the quantity of broken straws in the 

 fields was causing the farmers some alarm. Mr. Norman Criddle of 

 Aweme, Manitoba, a close observer and practical farmer, wrote to 

 Dr. Fletcher that this fly had increased considerably during the 

 last year or two, and was turning its attention to wheat and rye. 



'Fletcher,!. Report of the Entomologist and Botanist, 1896. Can. Dept. Agr. Exp. Farm, 1897. (See 

 ?. 229-230 ) 



