Hessian fly

Hessian fly
    n 1: small fly whose larvae damage wheat and other grains [syn:
         {Hessian fly}, {Mayetiola destructor}]
    

Hessian \Hes"sian\, a.
   Of or relating to Hesse, in Germany, or to the Hessians.
   [1913 Webster]

   {Hessian boots}, or {Hessians}, boot of a kind worn in
      England, in the early part of the nineteenth century,
      tasseled in front. --Thackeray.

   {Hessian cloth}, or {Hessians}, a coarse hempen cloth for
      sacking.

   {Hessian crucible}. See under {Crucible}.

   {Hessian fly} (Zool.), a small dipterous fly or midge
      ({Cecidomyia destructor}). Its larv[ae] live between the
      base of the lower leaves and the stalk of wheat, and are
      very destructive to young wheat; -- so called from the
      erroneous idea that it was brought into America by the
      Hessian troops, during the Revolution.
      [1913 Webster]
    

Cecidomyia \Cec`i*do*my"i*a\
   (s[e^]s`[i^]*d[-o]*m[imac]"[i^]*[.a]), prop. n. [Nl., fr. Gr.
   khki`s, khki^dos, a gall nut + myi^a a fly.] (Zool.)
   A genus of small dipterous files, including several very
   injurious species, as the {Hessian fly}. See {Hessian fly}.
   [1913 Webster]