122 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



feeds upon the Phylloxera and destroys it, associated with the lice and 

 busy in its useful mission. 



Since this insect is now known to be at work in Ontario, and probably 

 to a greater extent than we are at present aware of, a condensed account 

 of its life history will probably be interesting to our readers. The figures 

 are from Prof Riley's excellent reports, and the facts given mainly gleaned 

 from the writings of this and other authors. 



Its progress in Europe has been most alarming, inflicting untold losses 

 in the wine making districts. The destruction it has occasioned in France 

 has been so great that it has become a national calamity which the Gov- 

 ernment has appointed special agents to enquire into ; large sums of 

 money have also been offered as prizes to be given to any one who shall 

 discover an efficient remedy for this insect pest. At the same time it has 

 made alarming progress in Portugal, also in Switzerland and some parts of 

 Germany, and among vines under glass in England. It is a native of 

 America, from whence it has doubtless been carried to France ; it is com- 

 mon throughout the greater portion of the United States, and in one of 

 its forms in Canada, but our native grape vines seem to endure the attacks 

 of the insect much better than do those of Europe. Recently it has 

 appeared on the Pacific slope in the fertile vineyards of California, where 

 the European varieties are largely cultivated, and hence its introduction 

 there will probably prove disastrous to grape culture. 



This insect is found in two different forms : in one instance on the 

 leaf, where it produces greenish red or yellow galls of various shapes and 

 sizes, and is known as the type Gallaecola, or gall-inhabiting ; in the other 

 and more destructive form, on the root, known as the type Radicicola, or 

 root-inhabiting, causing at first swellings on the young rootlets, followed 

 by decay, which gradually extends to the larger roots as the insects con- 

 gregate upon them. These two forms will for convenience be treated 

 together. 



The first reference made to the gall-producing form was by Dr. Fitch 

 in 1854, in the Transactions of the New York State Agricultural Society, 

 where he described it under the name of Pcvipkigi/s vitifolice. Early in 

 June there appear upon the vine leaves small globular or cup-shaped galls 

 of varying sizes ; a section of one of these is shown at d^ figure 15 ; they 

 are of a greenish red or yellow color, with their outer surface somewhat 

 uneven and woolly. Figure 14 represents a leaf badly infested with these 

 galls. On opening one of the freshly formed galls, it will be found to 



