Hessian fly Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun small fly whose larvae damage wheat and other grains
    Mayetiola destructor.

WordNet

Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.), a small dipterous fly or midge (Cecidomyia destructor). Its larvæ 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.

Webster 1913