950 I. M. HAawneEy 
SYSTEMATIC POSITION 
The parent insect of the seed-corn maggot (Hylemyia cilicrura, Plate 
LXIX, 1) is a fly of the order Diptera and the family Anthomyiidae. The 
insect was first described by Rondani (1866)? as Chortophila cilicrura. Until 
recently, however, cilicrura has been considered synonymous with fusciceps 
of Zetterstedt (1845), and, since Zetterstedt’s description precedes that of 
Rondani, fusciceps has been accepted as the specific name of the insect. 
Stein (1916) finds that fusciceps is a distinct species and not the cilicrura 
of Rondani. Malloch (1920) accepts the separation of the two species | 
made by Stein. The species fusciceps of Zetterstedt occurs in Lapland | 
and other parts of northern Europe, and recently Malloch (1920) has | 
recorded it from North America. The species cilicrura, in addition to a | 
wide European distribution, is present in most parts of North America, | 
and is the pest known as the seed-corn maggot. The fusciceps described 
by Slngerland (1894) is not the fusciceps of Zetterstedt but is czlicrura 
Rond. 
Stein (1916) places czlicrura in the genus Chortophila, but Malloch 
(1920) unites the genera Chortophila, Phorbia, and Hylemyia in the strict — 
sense, in the genus Hylemyia. If we follow this latest paper on the 
subject, the seed-corn maggot must be called Hylemyza cilicrura Rond. — 
In the recent European writings of Reh (1913) and Oberstein (1916), the 
specific name Chortophila cilicrura is applied to this insect; but in older 
works, such as that of Ritzema Bos (1890), mention is often made of 
Anthomyia platura. The species platura is a composite of cilicrura and 
trichodactyla, and often it is impossible to determine definitely which species 
was blamable for the work these authors have described. 
COMMON NAMES 
The common names given to Hylemyza cilicrura include the following: | 
deceiving wheat fly, locust-egg anthomyian, Anthomyia egg parasite, 
seed-corn maggot, corn Anthomyia, seed-corn flower-fly, bean maggot, | 
bean fly, fringed anthomyian. Of these, the name seed-corn maggot is — 
the best known and is the one retained in this paper. 
HISTORY 
Hylemyia cilicrura is probably of European origin. In North America — 
the first record was that of Fitch (1856), who found the fly on wheat heads 
and described it under the name Hylemyia deceptiva. Riley (1869) dis- | 
covered the larva attacking corn in New Jersey and named the fly Antho- 
mya Zeae, but nine years later (Riley, 1878) he called it Anthomyia angusti- ~ 
frons Meigen when he found the maggots feeding on locust eggs in Kansas © 
and other western States. It was reported that ten per cent or more of 
2 Dates in parenthesis refer to Bibliography and Literature Cite?, pages 1025 to 1037. 
