Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1879-12-16
THE HESsIAN FLY.


We transfer to our columns, from tie
Free Press, the following valuable oontribu..
ton of Capt. VIM. 81. Kable, the cultured
Principal of the Charlestown Academy, on
the above subject:
Messrs. E4itors.-The apprehensions of
damage to the growing crop Of wheat by the
ravages of the Hessian Fly. led me to make
some personal observations as to its habits,
aud to ascertain what had been written upon
tho subject. A few of the facts gathered
may be of interest to some of your readers.
The insect derives its popular name of Hes
sian Ely from having been first observed on
Staten Island, near the place of landing OF
the Hessiaus, in 1776, and was supposed to
have been brought in the forage landed
there. 1t belongs to the order of Diptera or
twoSwinged flies, as distinguished from the
four-winged bees, wasps. &C., and to the
family of Gall>fies, known to the Entomolo>
gist as Cecidomyidae, distinguished by the
habit of the female laying her eggs in tho
stalks OF cereals and in the buds of plants,
producing gall-like sxsrescences, inhabited
By the larvae, though this is not popularity
of this variety. DR.. HAMS describes the in>
sect as follows: Body about one>tenth Of an
inch. long; expanse of wings one-q quarter of
an inch or more; head and feet black; the
hind body tawny, and marked with black
and fne grayish hairs. My own observations
make the insect somewhat larger than the
above, probably the effect of difference of
I, locality, Packard describes the females
laying from thirty to forty eggs on the blade
of wheat which hatch in a few days. aud
make their way down the leaf until they
reach joint, there they attach themselves
to the tender shoot, absorbing its juices by
suction alone. Tho form of tho mouth and
its fitness for the work of drawing the juices
from the plant are very we'll shown under the
microscope. These larva, in the course OF
three or four weeks, cease to foed aud pass
into the pupa state, the skin, which in other
lar.e is generally shed, becoming hard aud
answering for the chrysalis. This is the form
so we'll known to the farmer as the fax seed
state. In this condition they lie dormant
until tho following spring, when they como
forth, the full grown fly. There are two
broods during the yoar-the one in the Fall
and the other in the Spring. The Spring
brood goes into tho pupa state about May or
June, many of them remaining in tho stubs
bio until after harvest. Hence tho burning
of the stubble has been recommended as a
ready means of destroying many of the brood.
The presence OF the grub in the wheat is
IataI " uuiesS tue uuIuucE
is sufficient to thoroughly exhaust the plant,
as the tendency of tho plant is to throw out
shoots when the growth of the main stem
has been interrupted and this in advance of
its usual time for branching. Quite nuns
Der of parasitic or ichneumon flies arc men,
toned as preyiug upon tho eggs and larvae
and thus destroying them. The destructive
character of these parasites was we'll exhibits
ed in tho study Of. the habits of the cabbage
butter, fly few years ago. Of more than
hundred of the Chrysalides gathered found
a. least 90 per cent had been destroyed by
the parasites which had laid their eggs on the
worm before it had assumed the chrysais
form. A circular has been recently issued
by distinguished Entomologist calling for
information with regard to the habits Of this
insect. and will have served my purpose in
writing this article if some Of our farmers are
induced to avail themselves of tho abundant
opportunities for more thorough knowledge
of the habits of this insect.
WIN. Fl. KABLE,
Charlestown A cadcmy Nov. &c, 10.