Hessian << HEHSH uhn >> fly is a tiny, two-winged insect. It is called Hessian fly because people once believed that it was brought to America in the straw bedding of Hessian troops during the American Revolution (1775-1783). It probably came from southern Russia. It is now found in wheat-growing areas of the United States and southern Canada, and in Africa and parts of Europe and New Zealand. The larva (maggot) attacks wheat crops. In some years, it has destroyed 10 percent of the U.S. and Canadian wheat crop.
The adult Hessian fly is about 1/8 inch (3.2 millimeters) long, with a dark brown body and dusky gray wings. Two generations of adults are produced each year—one in the spring and one in the fall. The female lays from 250 to 300 tiny, pale red eggs. She deposits them on a wheat leaf or stalk. In about five days, whitish maggots hatch and crawl down between the leaf sheath and the stem. They suck juice from the stem.
