Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1879-12-13
VIRGINIA FREE PRESS.
(. T. & Y. \. D. GALLAHER, EDITORS.
,herlestown, Jefferson Co., w. Va.
OFFICE IN" JEFFERSON BUILDING. ="
aturday, December l3, 1870.
MEssns. EpIrons :-The apprehen slons Q
Nov. 1879.

MEssBs EDrToRs The apprehen sions o
damage to the growing crop Of wheat by the
ravages Of the Hessian Fly, led me TO make
some personal observations as 70 its habits, -
aud 70 ascertain what had been written upon
the subject. A few OF the facts gathered may
be Of interest TO some Of your readers. The
insect derives its popular name Of Hesslan Fly
from having been FIRST observed on Staten
Island, near the place Of landing Of the Hes
slams, in l776. and was supposed to have been
bIough, 10 the forsgc landed there. II belongs
TO the order Of DiptoTa or two-winged flies, as
distinguished from the fOus-wioged bees
wasps, &c, and 50 the family Of Gall.fies
hnown to tho Eutsmologist ss Cseiiom ida
distinguished BY sho habit Of the female lay
log her eggs 10 the stalks Of cereals and 10 the
buds Of plants, producing gall-liko excfescen-
ees, Inhabited by the losyae, tho this 10 noi 9
peculiarly Of this variety. DR.. Hsnis de-
scrbes ,he insec. a. follows: body about one
tenth Of 40 inch long ezpanse Of wings ohx-
quarter II an inch Of more head sBd feet
black the hind body, tawDy, and marked
with b!nck aud fne gfayisb hsirs. Ny ovu
observations make the insec. somewhat larger
than the above. probably the effect Of differ
ence Of locality. Packard describes the fe-
males as laying from thirty 10 forty cggs on the
blade Of the wheat which hatch 10 few days,
and make their way doyn the leaf until they
reach joint. there they attach themselves to
tho tonder shoot, absorbing lis juices by suo-
ton alone The form of the mouth and lis
fitness for the work Of drawing the juices from
the plant are very well shown under the mi
croscope. These larva, 10 the course Of three
or four weeks, cease TO feed and pass into the
pupa state, the skin, which is other larv@ is
generally shed, becoming hard and answering
for the chrysais This Is the form 80 well
known TO the farmer as the fax seed state
In this condition they lie dormant until the
following spring. when they come forth, the
full grown fly. Taere are two broods during
the year, the one 10. the fall AMI the other 10
the Spring The Spring brood goes into the
pupa state about May or June, many OF them
femlining in the stubble until after harvest
Hence the burning of the Stubble has been re-
commended as q ready means OF destroying
many OF the brood.
The presence Of the grub in the wheat stalk
is not necessarily fatal TO il, unless the num-
Der is sufficient to thoroughly exhaust the
plant as the tendency Of the plant Is to throw
out shoots when the growth OF the main stem
has been Interrupted and this in advance Of It's
usual time for branching Onto a number Of
parasitic or icbneumon flies are mentioned as
preying upon the eggs and larvae and thus
destroying them. The destructive character
of these parasites was well exhibited 10 the
study Of the habits Of the Cabbage butterfly a
few years ago OF more than hundred Of
the Chrysalides gathered, found at least 90
per cent had been destroyed by the parasites
which had laid their eggs on the worm before
it assumed the chrysalis form. A circular has
been recently issued bya distinguished Ento-
mologist calling FOR Information with regard to
the habits of this insect. and will have served
my purpose 10 writing this article il come Of
our farmers are induced to avail themselves Of
the abundant opportunities for a more thor
ough knowledge Of the habits Of this pest.
VIZ. H. KABLE.
Charlestown Academy, Nov. 26. 70.