102 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Dr. Packard, in his "Guide," page 415, figures an unknown species as 

 the " Apple Fly," which is believed to be the above species. Mr. Walsh 

 in vol. 2 of the " Practical Entomologist," also gives a brief notice of a 

 larva supposed to be that of a species of Drosophtla, and which also were 

 injurious to an apple crop in Vermont to the extent of about half its 

 value, by boring the fruit in every direction. 



Professor Lintner further says : " The different species of Drosophtla 

 vary considerably in their habits, as we learn from European writers ; and, 

 indeed, the same species seems often to occur under apparently quite 

 different conditions. The larvae of the European D. cellaris occur in 

 fermented liquids in cellars, as wine, cider, vinegar and beer, and also in 

 decayed potatoes. D. aceti Kol. infests decayed fruits. Its larvae occupy 

 about eight weeks in attaining their growth, and their pupal state lasts for 

 ten or twelve days. The flies appear in May and June. D. futiebris has 

 been reared from pupa taken from mushrooms. It is sometimes known 

 as the vinegar fly. Another European species, D. flava, is stated by 

 Curtis to mine the leaves of turnips, raising blister-like elevations on their 

 upper surface." 



The present species, D. ampelophila, is described by Loew in his 

 Centuria Secunda (Dipt. Amer. Sept. indigena), No. 99, page 101. It is 

 exceedingly common (Professor Hagen states) in the southern parts of 

 Middle Europe and in Southern Africa, but the only localities given for it 

 in America, in Loew and Osten Sacken's Catalogue, are the District of 

 Columbia and Cuba. Professor Lintner, however, has bred it in New 

 York ; it also occurs in Pennsylvania, and now Montreal must be added 

 to the list. I also think, from observations made in Quebec, that it, or an 

 allied species, is found there. At any rate, this immense area of distri- 

 bution for such an insignificant insect is very remarkable. 



Like the other species of this genus, and so many other dipterous 

 insects, the larva of avipelophila feeds on decaying or fermenting vegetable 

 matter. Professor Lintner bred it from pickled plums ; in Pennsylvania 

 it fed on decaying peaches, and I found it in pickled raspberries. An 

 earthenware jar had been nearly filled with this fruit and vinegar, prepared 

 by the good housewife for the purpose of making that favorite drink (in 

 Canada at least) called raspberry vinegar. On opening the jar about ten 

 days afterwards (i6th August, 1879) it was found to be swarming with the 

 larvae and cocoons of the insect. Hundreds of the larvae were crawling 

 on the sides of the jar and the under side of the cover, while pupae were 



