846 
ANNUAL REPORT OF NEW YORK 
YELLOW-LEGGED BARLEY-FLY. MR. OEDDEs’ ACCOUNT OF IT. 
Mr. Geddes states that “this insect attacks the crop j ust 
before the heads appear, laying its eggs in the straw; the stalk 
is either entirely destroyed, or if any grain is matured the leer 
nels are small and imperfect. When the crop is thrashed, small 
pieces of straw are seen, having enlarged places in which the 
cells and larvrn of the insect are found.” 
The first specimens of this diseased barley straw were sent to 
the Agricultural Rooms, Albany, October 1856, by Ledyard 
Lincklaen, Esq., of Cazenovia. An examination of this straw 
e lowed the malady to be identical in every respect with that in 
the Massachusetts barley as described by Dr. Harris, and the 
worms therein corresponded fully with Prof. Cabell’s account of 
ie Lurytoma larvae or joint-worms in the Virginia wheat. I 
therefore was fully confident it was the Eurytoma Hordei , which 
occasioned this disease and would be produced from this straw 
Hoping some parasites might be obtained in company with this 
insect, the straw was inclosed in a glass jar and set aside. Upon 
the 23d of the following July a number of flies were noticed run- 
mug about in this jar, and a much increased number on the 25th, 
their transformations having been retarded, no doubt, by the 
dryness of the straw. As there appeared to be no parasites 
accompanying them and other engagements were pressing upon 
me at that time, the jar was placed aside and forgotten. On 
coming to examine it afterwards, some sixty flies were found in 
it, dead, but otherwise in good condition for study, about a 
quarter of the number being males. As has already been stated, 
they led me to much more important results than I had antici¬ 
pated. J he uniformity and constancy of the colors in their 
bodies and limbs, as seen in such a number of examples, showed 
that the insects of this genus are not liable to vary in this 
respect, and that this fly in the New York barley was a species 
distinct from that of Massachusetts and also from the joint-worm 
of the \ lrginia wheat. It was named and described accordingly, 
in the Journal of the Society, as has been related on a preceding 
page. 
In addition to this diseased straw from Madison county, sam¬ 
ples of the same kind have since been'received from Hon. George 
Geddes of Onondaga, G. C. Bradley of Jefferson, Win. H. Davis 
of St. Lawrence and Wm. D. Cook of Wayne counties, thus show- 
