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THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



POPULAR AND ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY— No. 4. 



BY JAMES FLETCHER, OTTAWA. 



THE IMPORTED CURRANT SAW-FLY — (nEMATUS RIBESII, SCOP). 



Fig. 8. 



Amongst insects which every year make their presence noticeably 

 apparent by their injtiries, and thlis win the distinction of being " First- 

 class Pests " to the fruit-grower, not one, perhaps, is better known, nor, 

 when not checked in its operations, more annoying, than the currant 

 worm, the larval state of the imported currant saw-fly, Nematus Ribesii, 

 Scop. ( = N. ventricosus, Klug). 



This is a European insect, which, although it has only been noticed 

 in America for thirty years, has already spread over a large proportion of 

 the settled parts. Early in the spring when the buds are bursting upon 

 the currant and gooseberry bushes, active yellowish four- winged flies will 

 be seen flying around the bushes or crawling over the imfolding leaves. 

 These are the parents of the currant worms. The two sexes differ a good 

 deal in appearance. At Fig. 7, they are both represented enlarged. The 

 hairlines at the sides show their natural sizes.- The male is shown at a. 

 It is slightly the smaller, and is much darker in color. The head and 

 thorax are almost black, with some dull yellow spots. The abdomen is 

 dark above but yellow beneath and at the tip. The wings are glossy 



