448 
THE TURNIP ELY. 
every enquiry, slates, he has not discovered any of the previous trans¬ 
formations. Mr. Henderson, after having kindly undertaken experi¬ 
ments, states, “ I have not been able to discover anything, myself, 
which can be satisfactory to the committee; I have applied for infor¬ 
mation to several entomologists, who, if any discovery had been made 
on the subject, would most likely be acquainted with it; their an¬ 
swers were all to the effect that no discovery had been made of the 
egg, the larvae, or the pupae of the insect, or of its transformation 
from one stage of its existence to the other. This is the substance of 
the answers which I have received from Mr. Dale, of Glanville Wot- 
ton, Dorset—a gentleman who has made many valuable discoveries 
in entomology—and from Mr. Curtis, author of British Entomology, 
and a very high authority on matters relating to the science.” 
Under these circumstances, all speculations as to the abode and 
habits of the infant turnip fly, must be vague and unsatisfactory. 
The gentlemen above named seem strongly to doubt whether, in 
these earlier stages, the insect is at all connected with the turnip field. 
We need not say how very important it is that these facts should be 
ascertained, and that we should know where the enemy is generated 
and nurtured, as well as the length of time occupied in each trans¬ 
formation. An extensive series of experiments undertaken on this 
subject, might be of the utmost advantage, and eventually prove a 
national benefit. It is possible, that, in its infant stages, the insect 
may be destroyed, more effectually than in any other; and, at all 
events, an accurate knowledge of these facts would confine the efforts 
and experiments of the Farmer within certain lines, from which they 
must now,in our ignorance, be continually diverging; and much time 
and effort, now wasted on impossible experiments, would be saved. 
That the turnip fly passes the winter in a torpid state, and revives 
on the approach of spring, is ascertained beyond a doubt. Mr. Hen¬ 
derson states, “ I examined a great number of trees, in various situa¬ 
tions ; in the wood, in the plantations, and standing singly; and from 
trees in all these situations, I obtained Haltica nemorum in a dor¬ 
mant state. They are found on those trees which have a very rough 
outer bark, and lie underneath the bark, where it has become partially 
excoriated, generally two, three, or four together, perfectly dormant, 
but when held in the hand, or taken into a warm room, they revive 
and leap about. The number which may be found by a diligent 
search in the middle of winter is, I believe, much greater than is ad¬ 
mitted, even by those who are aware of their hybernation. I took 
from a horse-chesnut, standing in an exposed situation, in the mid¬ 
dle of January, twelve Haltica nemorum ; and it is probable, that 
