REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST I918 4I 



entirely to our destructive wheat midge, which in some localities at 

 least is the Moselle midge. 



Early American history. The data brought together by Doctor 

 Fitch indicate the probable establishment of this insect upon the 

 St Lawrence river some 40 miles above Quebec in 1828 or earlier and 

 its gradual spread southward through the Champlain and Hudson 

 valleys and westward along the Mohawk valley and beyond until 

 it had established itself in the entire wheat-growing areas of this and 

 adjacent states. The appearance of this insect in the wheat fields 

 was accompanied by losses far in excess of those characteristic of 

 later outbreaks. It was so extremely destructive that wheat grow- 

 ing was abandoned for a time in portions of the upper Hudson 

 valley. The devastation was so complete in some fields that the 

 crop was not worth harvesting. Doctor Fitch and well-informed con- 

 temporaries state that the yield from large sections of the State was 

 not one-third or one-fourth of an ordinary crop One of the most 

 interesting features in connection with this outbreak was the markedly 

 greater losses during the first few. years of the midges' presence, 

 followed later by much less damage. The loss in New York State 

 in 1854 was estimated at $15,000,000 and correspondingly severe 

 damage occurred in the state of Ohio. Yields of but one bushel an 

 acre were not uncommon and there is at least one record of nearly 

 a handful of maggots being rubbed out from a head of wheat. This 

 latter was not very much more than our last summer's record of 

 73 maggots from one head. In 1856 the pest is credited with having 

 destroyed from one-half to two-thirds of the crop in Livingston 

 county on the uplands and near y all on the flats. At least 2000 acres 

 on fiats which would have yielded 30 bushels an acre were not har- 

 vested and cond tions were even worse in 1857. 



There have been minor outbreaks since these early days and in 

 some instances a considerable infestation in individual fields and 

 perhaps over areas of large extent. Apparently most of these have 

 been much more restricted than was true of 19 17 and 19 18 though it 

 should not for a moment be supposed that the general occurrence 

 of this pest during the past two years is ikely to result in any such 

 widespread damage as occurred in 1854 or thereabouts. The wheat 

 midge was then a comparatively recent introduction and presumably 

 exempt in large measure from attack by natural enemies. All the 

 evidence points to the general prevalence of this insect year after 

 year in the wheat-growing areas. The reason for the great discrep- 

 ancy between the losses of earlier years and those occurring or likely 

 to occur at the present time, is that natural enemies of this pest have 



