Meade County news. [volume] (Meade, Kan.) 1900-1918, 1915-06-24
CBy HERBERT A. sHEARER.)

;owed your wheat too early, you had
better look for hessian flies as soon
as the wheat plants appear. You can
do this until the leaves turn brown.
The eggs are always laid on the sur
face of the leaves, and the maggots,
as soon as they hatch, make their way
down the leaves to point just above
the roots of the young plants where
they begin to feed. Later you will find
from six to fifteen small brown Jumps
like small flax seed.
This pest has been known for over
one hundred years but not one farmer
in hundred knows whether or not he
has got it. Don't mistake plenty of
other insects which may be more or
less beneficial.
Infested wheat has broader leaves
of much deeper green color, resem-
bling in this respect the leaves Of vol
unteer oats. The rolled central leaf,
through which grows the stem, is al
ways absent and infested plants stand
much more erect in the drill-row and
do not spread out and cover the ground
like healthy plants.
In the uninfested plant, the leaves
are more slender, of lighter green
and do not stand so erect, and as til
lers are thrown up they spread out
and cover the ground. They may have
every appearance of being less vigor-
Gus than the infested plants, but this
is not the case, and the central rolled
leaf lis always present, indicating a
healthy stem. The difference between
the infested and uninfested plants is
shown by the illustrations.
You may be able to save your In
tested field by pasturing in dry wealth
er only, young or light weight AMI
mails. The tramping Of the soil will
probably crush many Of the maggots
and thus facilitate infested plants
throwing up fresh and healthy tillers
or sprouts as shown at the left OF
Figure No. 2, and these will appear
above ground too late to become In
tested. Surviving the winter, these
uninfested tillers will give the field
an increased number of plants in the
spring. While this will not entirely
destroy the enemy, 1t may save the
crop.
The hessian fly immlgrated to the
United States about the year 1779.
He is an undesirable citizen.
The hessian fly has spread over the
states between the Mississippi river
and the Atlantic coast. Some years II
has become very destructive, then re-
mains in hiding for period Of years.
It has been quite destructive lately in
the middle West. 1t cost Kansas dear
ly last year.
The hessian fly has a life cycle Of
four different forms: egg, larva, pupa
(also called fiaxseed), and adult. The
appearance Of the insect in the differ
ent stages is very different. The adult
is a tiny fly or long-legged gnat, some
what resembling a small mosquito.
The egg is deposited on the upper
surface of the leaf. 1t is almost too
small to be seen by the naked eye.
The tiny naggots are 80 small when
first Matched that they lay between
the creases in the leaf and soon hide
themselves between the leaf sheath
and the stem.
Before they are detected the injury
to the wheat plant has been accom-
plished and the maggots have become
fully grown and transformed into the
so-called faxseeds. When these fax
seeds are discovered, they are blamed
for the damage done by the maggots.
The adult flies come out Of the
ground in September, and immediate
ly commence laying eggs on the leaves
OF the new wheat plants.
The fly is about u Of an inch In
length from its head to the tip of the
abdomen. Its legs may be 1-6 Of an
inch in length. The fly is dark in
color and has single pair Of trans
parent wings. The abdomen Of the
male fly is slender and has blunt
ending The abdomen OF the female is
heavier and is sharp-pointed.
The eggs are laid on wheat, rye and
barley. In rare cases, they are de-
posted on the blades of young tender
grass.
The egg of the hessian fly is oval,
elongated and reddish, about 1.5O of
an inch In length, and slim enough to
lie in the grooves of the wheat leaf.
They are easily detected by the aid of
a magnifying glass.
The young larva is slightly larger
than the egg and is of reddish color.
The maggot soon goes down into the
plant by following the grooves until
1t reaches the leaf sheath. 1t squeezes
between the sheath and the main stem