WHEAT-BULB MAGGOT. 
83 
injury caused by the maggot. On May 17tli Mr. Michael Ellison, of 
Barber Woodliouse, near Rotherham, Yorkshire, enquired regarding 
the same maggot, which, he noted “ you will find inside the stem of 
the young Wheat enclosed. I took it this morning from a field 
belonging to a farm tenant near here, which a fortnight ago was as 
flourishing as possible, and is now vanishing away owing to the attack 
of this maggot.” In reply to my enquiries Mr. Ellison kindly informed 
me that the injured Wheat which was on the farm of a tenant, about 
two miles on the south side of Sheffield, was sown at the previous 
Martinmas; the land was well farmed, and the tenant gave it half a 
ton of salt per acre last February. He (the tenant) also said that he 
had two other Wheat-fields which were much worse, and which were 
sown the first week in October. Mr. Ellison further observed that 
“ the maggot appears now (May 22nd) to be changing, and the ravages 
of the insect to be ceasing; so that I hope that the Wheat that does 
remain will bear more abundantly, as some compensation for that 
which is lost.” 
Mr. Ellison’s observations are very valuable with regard to the 
precise life-history of this Wheat-bulb Fly, as he gives the date of 
sowing of the attacked Wheat, the date when the maggots were 
turning to the chrysalis state, and in the following letter he reported 
the appearance of the Fly (which proved to be the Hylemia coarctata) 
from these chrysalids. 
On July 7th Mr. Ellison wrote :—“ I have now much pleasure in 
sending, according to promise, a few specimens of the Flies which 
have hatched from the chrysalids of the maggot that I have previously 
written to you about, and hope they may reach you safely and well, as 
I am sending them from here alive.” These Flies I identified myself 
as being Hylemia coarctata ; but for absolute certainty in the matter, 
as it is of practical importance, I submitted specimens for examination 
to Mr. R. H. Meade, of Bradford, that we might have the benefit of 
his valuable opinion, and he confirmed my view that they were 
specimens of Hylemia coarctata. 
Reverting now to reports of observations of the attack in the order 
in which they were received, on May 17th Mr. Francis Wells, writing 
from King’s Vale Farm, New Oscot, near Birmingham, forwarded me 
specimens of the same kind of maggot, with the note that it was a 
sample of a grub which was playing sad havoc in his Wheat. He 
mentioned—“ I must tell you it is Wheat after Swede Turnips, and 
each year I have sown this succession it has always * gone off ’ as it is 
doing now. One field of mine is a complete failure, and the land is 
in high condition. The soil here is of a light sandy nature, and if not 
farmed extra well would soon degenerate into common.” The 
specimens of Wheat sent were about six inches high, and very healthy 
g 2 
