370 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE- 



are not likely to be detected except by careful search. As the 

 apple matures, the maggot makes more and more headway and 

 is frequently full grown by the time the apple is ripe (fig. 43). 

 Moreover the presence of the maggots seem to hasten the de- 

 velopment of the apples and much of the infested fruit comes 

 to the ground as windfalls. This is the reason so much stress 

 is laid on the destruction of windfalls to get rid of the maggot. 



Since the flies are so long on the wing and lay their eggs 

 over such an extended time, the full grown maggots are found 

 at different periods. The first eggs are laid naturally in the 

 early fruit and accordingly as soon as August tenth full grown 

 maggots have been recorded in Early Harvests. On the other 

 hand, some of the later maggots, from eggs laid in harder 

 winter varieties, do not acquire their full size until late in the 

 fall or winter. These are the maggots that are stored with 

 the fruit. 



The full grown maggots bore out of the windfalls and bury 

 themselves an inch or less in the ground. Or, if they are in 

 gathered fruit where they cannot find a suitable burying ground, 

 they creep away beneath some protecting object instead. Soon 

 after leaving the apple (sometimes the transformation takes 

 place within the apple but not often) the maggots shrink a little 

 in length and bulge a little in thickness, the skin at the same 

 time growing tougher and slightly darker. The insect is known 

 in this form as the pupa, and rests in this stage all winter. 

 With the return of summer a second transformation takes place 

 when the tough skin which has covered the pupa all winter is 

 broken open by tlie adult insect (a fly with dark bands on its 

 wings) which has developed inside the pupal case. This mature 

 fly spends its life laying eggs in the flesh of young apples, thus 

 starting a new generation of apple maggots. 



Maggot. Fly. Pupa. 



Fig. 24. 

 The apple maggot enlarged 3 times. 



