31 l^r LLETIN 172. 



ill figure 12 — takes place. Wlieii the time for emei-o-ence comes, 

 the little lly bursts open one end of the pnparium (^tigure 15), crawls 

 out, works its way up tlirough the inch or less of soil, and then flits 

 away to find its mate and the food-plant for its progeny. As to 

 when tliese cherry fruit-flies emerge in the spring we have no evi- 

 dence. The yellow currant fruit-fly {Epochra canadensis) sometimes 

 emerges in May, but tlie nearer relatives of the cherry fruit-fly, the 

 dark fruit-tly {Rhagoletls rihicola) and the apple maggot fly {Rhago- 

 leiis 2>onionella) may emerge about tlie middle of June in the lati- 

 tude of [New York. Hence, v/e would infer froni this that the 

 cherry fruit-fly may be expected to emerge about June 15th, in New 

 York. The date of appearance of the flies on the trees will doubt- 

 less varv somewhat with the latitude and the season. The flies will 

 doubtless continue to emerge over a considerable period, perlia})s a 

 month or more ; the flies which we suspect are the adults of this 

 pest were found on the fruit as late as August -ith. 



Egg-layiug. — We have not seen the fly lay an Qg^^ hut think we 

 have found its eggs in the cherries. AYe found many minute punc- 

 tures through the skin of tlie fruits, and obliquely just beneath the 

 skin in the flesh we could discern the remains of a hatched Q'g'g. In 

 a few cases we found an unhatched Q'gg^ but always cruslied it before 

 we could disengage it from the flesh of the fruit. Hence, we are 

 unable to describe or picture' the agg. We feel (piite sure, however, 

 that the mother fly punctures the skin of the fruit witli her oviposi- 

 tor and then inserts obliquely an elongate, whitisli Q\i,g in the flesh 

 just beneath tlie skin. Mr. Lowe has recorded the following obser- 

 vations regarding the ^gg\ "Egg-laying undoubtedly begins as soon 

 as the flrst fruit ripens, as young maggots were found in some of the 

 earliest fruits. It continues as late as the middle of August, and 

 probably later. We have found young maggots as late as August 

 16th. On the same day an unhatched Ggg was found. The eggs 

 are placed nearly or quite under the skin. One iigg was found on. 

 the outside. A single ^gg measured 5 mm. (.02 inclij, somewhat 

 broader toward one end, and about one fourth as Avide as long, at 

 the widest point. Beginning at the broad end and extending about 

 one-fourtli the length of the ^^^^^ the shell is roughened and some- 

 what darker ; color, a dirty yellow." The flesh of the fruit seems 



