ATTACKING 
three fourths of an inch long. It may be 
controlled by hand picking. The normal 
place of breeding is in the stems of dock, 
and this weed should be removed from the 
neighborhood of rhubarb. 
The Hessian-fly (Jfayetiola destructor Say) 
Few insects have wrought greater dam- 
age than this in its. periods of 
abundance. 
pest 
The adult is a tiny, two-winged gnat, one tenth of an inch long. 
SURFACE OF STALK 
OR STEM 139 
Fig. 128.— The Rhubarb 
Curculio. Slightly — en- 
larged. Original. 
It is one of the prime enemies of our wheat-growing regions. 
It 
emerges in the fall, at the time that winter 
on the upper surface of the leaves. 
wheat is just unfolding its leaves, and lays eggs 
The re- 
sulting maggot goes down to a point within 
the leaf sheath, feeds, and later transforms 
to a small, hard, brown object looking like a 
seed, and known as 
In 
spring a new lot of 
the ‘* flaxseed.”’ 
adults emerge from 
these “flaxseeds,” 
and at once lay eggs 
on the leaves of the 
young Wheat as be- 
fore. The maggots 
which hatch from 
these eggs feed at the 
base of the leaf, caus- 
Fie. 129.— Work and 
puparia of the Hessian- 
fly. Original. 
ing characteristic in- 
jury. An _ infested 
plant is stunted, 
shows no visible stem, 
Fig. 130.— Adult of the 
and is darker than normal in color. 
Hessian-fly. Enlarged 
and natural size. Orig- 
inal. 
If the 
infestation is severe, the plant is seriously injured or entirely destroyed. 
The summer is passed in the flaxseed stage, in the wheat stubble. 
