16 
Professor Forbes, I am led to believe, from my recollections of the 
snecimens, that the pupae were enveloped^m a thm, transparent and 
closely adhering puparium. Such pupana are recorded of species 
of CWorops— nearly allied forms, and occurring under almost iden- 
tical conditions.” 
The first recorded notice of the occurrence of this insect in Illi¬ 
nois which I have been able to find, (and this is a doubtful one,) 
fs in the Prairie Farmer for July 17, 1880, although there can be 
no question that the fly really existed here many years before p^ 
bably indeed, from the earliest settlement of the state. In the 
above number, Dr. Thomas refers to this species with considerable 
hesitation (and I think incorrectly), some pale cream-yellow larvae 
found burrowing in the pith of the stalk, just above the lower ] units. 
My own first note on this insect was published in circular No. 
96 of the State Department of Agriculture, April 1, 1883, m which, 
under the name of the “wheat-bulb worm I reported it as a serious 
enemy to winter wheat in Fulton county, and in other paits of 
Central and Southern Illinois; described and figured the larva, and 
gave an account of its injury to wheat. The object of the note was 
to elicit information respecting its distribution in the State, and. * e 
amount of its injuries, before it should escape observation by trans¬ 
forming to the fly, and I consequently did not wait to breed it, but 
issued the circular without scientific name. Later having reared 
the larva to the imago, and obtained the eggs ol the latter. I d ■ 
scribed and figured the insect m all its stages m the Pram< 
Farmer” for Aug. 4, 1838, gave a brief resume of its life history 
and of the literature relating to it, and a fuller account of its m 
iuries to wheat. 'In the meantime, an article by Mr. John Martet 
had appeared in the “Prairie Farmer” for May 29th, 1883, describj 
ing the autumnal injury to wheat, and correctly attributing it t< 
this insect, which Mr. Marten seems to have bred from larva 
found in wheat. 
NOMENCLATURE. 
Although this insect has had the good fortune to escape repeate 
christening and description as a new species, it has received true 
common names, given it respectively by Fitch Lmtner and mysel 
The former writer followed the thoroughly unphilosophical and use 
less practice of constructing vernacular names by anglicizing to 
technical Latin names of genus and species and hence called this tc 
“American Meromyza.” Prof. Linker selected for it the title < 
“wheat-stem maggot,” having had Ins attention called only to ti 
iniury done in summer by burrowing m the upper part ot u 
stem; and I, knowing, it at first only from the base ot the ste 
immediately above the root, where it works m fall and spun 
adopted for it the name of wheat-bulb worm, given by Miss Ormeic 
to a European larva of the same family, which attacks wheat m u 
old world at the same season and in the same way. 
It seems important that the common name of an injurious inse 
should, as far as possible, draw attention to its most characteristic at 
serious injury; and I have for this reason retained m this ar ie 
the name based upon the injuries of this species to growing w e 
