Studies of fluctuations in insect populations XI The interrelationship of the wheat blossom midges and their host plant

The date of wheat blossom midge emergence in an insectary some distance away from the growing wheat can give as reliable an estimate of the forwardness of the crop as field observation of the date of ear emergence. The percentage grain attacked by the wheat blossom midges, which can be assessed by routine workers without any special experience of wheat, can give in early July a useful first estimate of the crop yield.