14 
wheat in Central Illinois having been completely destroyed by it, 
and others very seriously damaged, within the last two years _ 
Rp^cIps its mischief in the wheat field, and also in rye, there is 
f^ts male xt decklelly important that this> insect should be gener 
ally recognized and thoroughly understood and will doubtless just y 
as full an account of it as our observations and experiments will 
enable me to draw up. 
LITERATURE. 
The earliest published mention of this insect which I have been able 
to Hnd 4 in the ‘Trairie Farmer,” the early volumes of which are 
a treasure-house of information respecting the first appearance and 
a » *r«tx & 
terms so vague as to leave one in doubt as to the insect intended; 
hot in this case there can be no uncertainty. In the September 
number of the above journal for 1845 (p. 216) occurs the following 
item: 
“A NEW WHEAT iNSECT.-Tlie Michigan Farmer notices.a .newjheat 
insect found preying upon the wheat m that State and whmh t 
described as follows: It is the product of a small gree 
with ’two forked black lines on its forehead, and in some cases a 
streak of li«ht green extending lengthwise. The worm is found l 
the straw just Ibove the upper joint, where ^evours th = 
which would otherwise ascend to the head. J™ 
denote its presence by turning white premature y, g 
in the milk. In one instance nine eggs were found w a_ smg 
straw, one of which had just hatched. Have any of oui leaders 
seen any such insect ? . 
I have tried in vain to secure a copy of ^ the Michigan Farmer 
referred to, but as no subsequent mention ot this insect was mad 
in the Prairie Farmer, it is likely that the inquiry just quoted wa 
not answered 
It was not until ten years after this notice that Dr. I itch then 
State Entomologist of New York, detected the fly in that State 
where he obtained it by sweeping the heads of wheat m the fael 
with an insect net. He did not determine the eariy stages but from 
his knowledge of the habits ot the family (Oscimdaa) to which the 
fly belonged, he believed the larva to be injurious to wheat. 
In his second report as State Entomologist, published in 185i>, 
Dr. Fitch describes the species, and mentions the occurrence m tn 
wheat of “smooth, shining, footless little maggots, of paie-green 
watery-white colors, commonly imbedded m the straw m small b 
rows or cylindrical channels which they have excavated. Hr. b itcn t 
specific description is as follows: “It is 0.17 [of an inch] m length 
to the tip of its abdomen, and 0.20 to the end ot its wings. It if 
