affecting the Corn- Crops. 
145 
many little yellow larvae, very lively, from 2 to 3 millimetres long, 
lodged between the chaff of the grain ; these larvae nibble and 
destroj' the generative organs of the plant, and the germen where 
they are found are steril. These larvae appear to me to have a 
very great analogy with those «hich have been described in the 
' Linnsean Transactions ' under the name of Tipula tritici : it is 
probably a Cecidonvjia.^^ He also found in the bottles where 
some diseased ears of barley and wheat were preserved many 
Cecidomydes in the state of perfect insects.* 
The first time I had an opportunity of observing the economy 
of the Wheat-mid^e was in July and August, 1840. On the lOth 
of the" latter month Mr. E. Bennet, of Rougham Old Hall, showed 
me some ears of a red wheat, called " Old Kent," which had a 
reddish-brown appearance, and when the culms were opened a red 
powder was discoverable (fig. \\, h) : upon the backs of some of 
the grains, which were more or less shrivelled, I observed a long 
narrow filmy sac (fig. 11, g), on opening which a bright orange 
granulated maggot came out alive (fig. 12) ; it was attenuated 
before, with two minute black dots like eyes, and when shut up 
in a tin box many voluntarily left their cases and wandered about, 
but although I placed them in a pot with sand and earth I did 
not succeed in rearing them. ITie orange dust which I took for 
the excrement of the larvae at first, from constantly finding it 
with them, was composed of oval granules (fig. 15), and when 
highly magnified appeared to be dotted (fig. k). I suppose it was 
the red-rust, Urcdo rubigo.^ 
1 have already alluded to Professor Henslow's papers, which 
have been so recently published in this Journal, | that it will be 
only necessary to re\'iew his valuable obser\ations as briefly as 
possible in connection with some materials and notes transmitted 
to me upon the subject. In January, 1841, he sent me a packet 
of fine sifted dust from wheat, containing larvae and pupae appa- 
rently in various stages of growth ; the small ones, which were of 
a very bright red colour, he thought it possible would prove to be 
another species, and from the quantity of minute seeds mixed with 
the barn-dust I think it probable they might be attached to some 
of the grasses. The larvae, he observed, were first of a lemon 
colour, and some became of an orange tint after the wheat was 
housed in the barn, which might arise from their dying and be- 
coming dried. When perfected they were enclosed in a thin 
transparent web, by which they seemed to adhere to sound grains 
and to the inside of the chaff-scales (figs. 16 and 17). Whilst 
most of the larvae remained secreted during the winter amongst 
* Heipin's Memoir, p. 29. 
t Journal of Royal Agr. Soc, vol. ii. p. 9. 
VOL. VI. 
% Ibid. p. 24. 
L 
