ABSTRACT
Breeding resistance to insects in crop plants has made tremendous strides. In the case of the Hessian fly, Mayetiola destructor, on wheat, the planting of resistant varieties is the main control method used although resistant varieties are sometimes integrated with cultural, chemical, biological and genetic control programs. The Hessian fly is believed to have immigrated to the US in the wheat straw bed rolls of Hessian soldiers in 1777, hence its name. The larvae migrate down the leaf to the node and feed. There they complete their life cycle by oversummering on the wheat stubble and emerge again in the fall as adults. In New York a miller named Underhill planted some of his milling wheat; it proved to be resistant to Hessian fly and demand for his wheat increased. The breeding of resistant wheats is a team effort that utilizes the skill of different professionals, however, the entomologists and pathologists have similar roles.
