THE HESSIAN FLY IN BRITAIN 
in 1886. 
As far as at present appears there has been no 
recorded presence of the Hessian Fly in Britain until 
the latter end of July of the present ^ear. 
Those who desire to trace its history from its first 
t outburst as a destructivey^courge in North America 
during the years 1786 to 1789, with full reports of its 
* J history, habits, gradual spread, destructive powers, and 
ravages up to complete attacks of crops onwards, the 
date of its first proved appearance in Europe, and the 
7 testimony borne (up to July of the present year) of the 
absence of this pest from our own country, will find 
information on these subjects in the works whose titles 
are quoted in the appended table. 
Relatively to the watch instituted on its very first 
appearance in America lest this pest should be trans¬ 
mitted to our own land, we find that in 1788 the wheat 
crop was so much injured in various North American 
localities, from which corn was then exported in large 
quantities to Great Britain, that the exportation of grain 
from America was prohibited until the English Govern¬ 
ment was assured that the fly with eggs could not be 
introduced in the grain* ; and next, that consequently on 
the annually recurring tidings of the more and more 
widely extending devastations of the Hessian Fly in 
America, the investigations on this side the Atlantic 
were set on foot by Sir Joseph Banks, the result of 
which was, as reported by him, “ that no such insect 
* Bulletin No. 4 of U. S. Entomological Commission. 
V 
