MUSHROOM GROWING 



or gnats, (2) mites, (3) springtails, and 

 (4) crustaceans or sowbugs. 



Small flies. Several species of small flies 

 are common about mushroom houses, but as 

 the different ones are not readily distin- 

 guished one from another except by the 

 specialist they may all be spoken of gen- 

 erically. The mushroom is injured by these 

 gnats in the larval or maggot stage. It 

 is unnecessary here to give a complete ac- 

 count of their life history, as thorough de- 

 scriptions of the insects mentioned are given 

 in circular 155, Bureau of Entomology 

 U. S. Dept. of Agr. This circular may be 

 obtained upon request. These little in- 

 sects may appear in enormous quantity 

 in the mushroom house following the prep- 

 aration of the beds — when the temperature 

 is on the decline. They multiply with great 

 rapidity during any period when the tem- 

 perature is high enough, depositing their 

 eggs at the base of the mushroom stem. 

 From this point the larvae may pass up the 

 stem and ultimately riddle the cap. In the 



130 



