80 PROCEEDINGS ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



densis) was first made by the writer on July I, 1914, when a 

 small package of the berries was received at North East, Pa., 

 from Mr. Fred E. Brooks of the Bureau of Entomology, sta- 

 tioned at French Creek, W. Va. A few of the seeds were found 

 to contain full-grown chalcid larvae. Cldfeer examination of these 

 larvae a few days later disclosed the fact that they were appar- 

 ently of two species, the mandibles in one form being dentate 

 and in the other edentate. 



On July 18, of the same year, larvae were found in the seeds 

 of berries collected by the writer near North East, Pa. 



Parts of both of these lots of material were placed in breeding 

 jars and kept until the spring of 1915, but nothing was reared. 



No further information concerning the chalcids was obtained 

 until June 21, 1915, when one female of each of two species of 

 Syntomaspis were beaten from a shad bush bearing nearly ripe 

 fruit at North East. These were placed in cages on the tree, 

 and one was later observed to attempt oviposition in a nearly 

 ripe berry. No activity of this sort was observed for the other 

 species. 



In the summer of 1915 more berries were collected at North 

 East and more received from Mr. Brooks from both French 

 Creek and Pickens, W. Va. All of these lots were found by ex- 

 amination to contain some infested seeds. The bulk of each lot 

 was placed in a jar for rearing. 



On May 26, 1916, all the seeds in the French Creek lot were 

 examined. Nearly all of the living insects found were in the 

 pupal stage, most of them nearly ready for transformation, but 

 a few were still in the larval stage. All of the latter had the 

 mandibles acute and toothless. All of these stages were re- 

 moved from the seeds, placed in a watch glass, and covered, 

 on May 28, three female specimens of a species of Megzstigmus 

 were reared. On the same date three females and one male of 

 the same species emerged from the berries from Pickens, V.'. Va. 

 On June 1, emergence ceased and the contents of the Pickens 

 and North East cages were examined. This resulted in the 

 finding of many dead adults, all Meyastigmus. Up to this time 

 there has been recorded from the Pickens lot 17 females and -S 

 males. The dead in this lot totaled 28 females and 1 male. Al- 

 though the first specimens seen w r erc found on May 28, the find- 

 ing of so many dead specimens so soon after that date would 

 seem to indicate that emergence probably began some lime 

 earlier. The balance of the immature stages from the Fiench 

 Creek lot, both larvae and pupae, wore put in alcohol. There 

 was no further rearing from the North East berries, but on June 

 10 emergence from the Pickens lot began again. This lime. 



