Maskell. — On some Gall-producing Insects. 257 



Order. DIPTEEA. 



Sub-Order. Ovipaea, 



Family, (jecidomyid^. 



Genus Cecidomyia. 



Cecidomyia olearia (Blister-fly of Ake-piro). Plate XII., 

 figs. 1-13. 



Insects inhabiting, in colonies, excrescences produced by 

 the larvae on the young shoots of Olearia furfuracea ; or, 

 singly, blisters produced by the larvse in the leaves of the same 

 plant (figs. 1, la, lb). 



_ The eggs (figs. 2, 3) are elongated, pointed, red in colour, 

 laid in bundles on the young shoots, usually in or near an 

 axil. 



Larva (fig. 4) white, becoming yellow before transforma- 

 tion ; elongated, sluglike, footless ; the head (fig. 5) has a 

 simple flattish front wdth two curved claw-like processes, and 

 two others, conical (perhaps rudimentary antennae). There 

 are only two spiracles, simple orifices, placed on the last seg- 

 ment of the body. 



Pupa (fig. 6) naked ; head-region black, abdomen red with 

 blackish bands ; immature wings and feet noticeable. On the 

 head are four or five shortish bristles. 



The perfect fly (fig. 7) is elongated and slender ; head and 

 thorax dark-red with large black patches ; abdomen dark-red 

 with black spots ; legs dark-brown. The whole body and legs 

 are covered with short hairs and with a number of black 

 scales (fig. 13), pedunculate, something like those of Lejndop- 

 tera ; these scales give the appearance of black bands to the 

 abdomen — they are exceedingly loose, and apt to fall off at the 

 least touch. The head is transverse ; eyes conspicuous, almost 

 covering the head ; palpi long, four- (or five-?) jointed. Antennae 

 (fig. 11) in both sexes of fourteen joints, of wliich the first 

 two are very short, the rest ovate and sub-equal, with hairs on 

 each; in the female the last twelve joints are separated by 

 short peduncles, w^hich are not apparent in the male. Legs 

 very long and slender (figs. 7, 12) ; the tarsi five-jointed, the 

 first joint being very small. Wings (fig. 10) grey, with many 

 short bail's on the surface and a fringe of long hairs on the 

 edge ; veins few and not anastomosed ; the costal vein ex- 

 tends to the tip and meets the second longitudinal, the sub- 

 costal extending to about two-thirds of the length of the 

 w^ng ; the third longitudinal reaches the posterior margin at 

 about half its length, and sends off a branch which extends 

 nearly to the margin between it and the second longitudinal. 

 Haltere (fig. 10) conspicuously long, with a large head. Ab- 

 domen of female ending in several short lobes, sHghtly turned 



