Authors

G.I. Gilbertson

Bulletin No.

217

Document Type

Bulletin

Department

Zoology-Entomology Department

Description

The wheat-stem maggot is the young or larval form of the fly, Meromyza americana Fitch. It attacks not only wheat plants, but also rye, barley, emmer, timothy and certain species of native grasses. Records in South Dakota show an annual loss to cereal crops of from less than one to fifteen per cent. Both spring sown and fall sown grain are attacked. The wheat-stem maggot is widely distributed over South Dakota. The insect occurs wherever it can find certain native grasses or cultivated cereals in which to breed. It is generally conceded that the pest is a native of North America, having had its origin in the southern portion of the continent. The insect passes through four stages in completing its life cycle: the egg, the larva or maggot, the puparium and the fly. Descriptions of each stage are given in this bulletin.

Keywords

wheat maggot, wheat-stem maggot, American meromyza, wheat-bulb worm

Pages

28

Publication Date

11-1925

Type

text

Format

application/pdf

Language

en

Publisher

South Dakota Experiment Station, South Dakota State College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts

Share

COinS