The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1891-11-06
HEssIAN FLY AND TRANSFORMATIONS


Healthy wheat stalk and stalk dwarfted by
ly; a, Hessian fly egg; b, maggot; C. fiaxseed
Dr. pupa case; q, pupa; e, lily laying cggs i'll leaf
crease; f. female fly; q, male fly, both en-
iarged; h, fiaxseeds and swelling produced by
them l. parasite Of fly, enlarged.
from one stage around to that stage
again, is about six waeks. The larvae
from the eggs laid early in the spring
do the chief damage seen at that sea-
son of the year, causing the crinkling
or falling down of the straw when
the wheat heads out. Each gen
Grafton of course passes through the
same distinct stages. By harvest prac-
tically all of the larvae have assumed
the "faXsecd' and remain with the
Stubble when the wheat is removed,
although few are carried away with
the straw. From these the fall gener-
atoms descend, the first of them APP
pearing probably before September
in the volunteer grain or early-sown
wheat, and the second generation,
usually the one remaining dormant
over winter, gets in the regularly sown
wheat crop. The damage is all done
by the Larvae, the "faXseed" stage being
simply transition from that state to
the perfect one, in which the fly is en-
tirely innocent. The following are the
most important general preventive and
remedial measures applicable:
l. AS a large percentage of the in
sects remain in the stubble at harvest,
in the flaXseed state, and as the flies
which hatch from them are weak and
delicate, the ground may well be
plowed as soon after harvest as prac-
ticable, and rolled, to close crevices
through which the winged insects
might escape. If the stubble can be
made to burn, this will, Of course, de-
stroy the faXseeds even more effect
ually.
2. The volunteer grain springing up
IN the fields must be closely watched,
and destroyed in about four weeks af
ter its appearance, as it will otherwise
assist to carry the insect through the
summer. The most convenient method
of doing this will depend so much upon
the season and the cropping planned,
that each must select his own method.
3. Such of the flaXseeds as are car
ried away in the grain may be de-
stroyed by burning the screenings if
the wheat is threshed at once.
t. To prevent the wheat from becom-
ing infested in fall By the first autumn
nal brood, and to escape as much of
the second as possible, wheat sowing
may. with advantage, be postponed az
late as is consistent with its reasonable
safety from winter killing-to the last
of September or the first of October
s. Other things being eq ual, the dam
age done by an attack will depend on
the fertility of the soil and the strength
of the plant. If the latter is strong
enough to send 1T from the root new
and vigorous stalks to replace those
killed by the maggots of the fly. con-
siderable amount of fly attack may be
scarcely noticeable at harvest time.
From this it follows that the mainte-
nance of the fertility of the soil is often
measurable safeguard against loss.
6. Those varieties of wheat with
stiff and flinty stem, and those which
tiller somewhat freely from the root,
will suffer least under fly attack, the
first because the straw will not SO read
lily bend or break at the point weak
ened by the maggot, and the second
because the flies of the second spring
brood select fresh young shoots for the
deposition of their eggs in preference
to the older and tougher stalks, with
the effect to kill only these valueless
sprouts and SO diminish the injury to
the heading stems. - Orange Jrdd
Farmer