The Chekey Fkuit-Fly. 35 



to slightly thicken or harden aroun<l tlic egg and adhere closely to 

 it. Apparently the eggs are laid in any part of the fruit. Old egg- 

 scars are quite easily discernible on the cherries; the minute, round 

 depressed spot on the right-hand cherry of the two upper ones in 

 figure 13 is probably an egg-scar. 



Egg-laying doubtless extends over a considerable period, probably 

 beginning in- June and continuing until into August, if any cherries 

 remain on the trees so long. We have no data bearing on the dura- 

 tion of the egg-stage. The eggs pi-obably hatch in a few days. 



The maggot'' 8 life. — As the eggs are laid beneath the skin, the 

 moment it hatches, the maggot linds itself surrounded with its 

 favorite food, the juicy flesh of the fruit. It apjmrently ^oon makes 

 it way to near the pit where it proceeds to revel in the flesh, soon 

 forming a rotting cavity, as shown in flgure 14. The maggot 

 spends its whole life of three or four weeks in a single cherry, and 

 rarely more than one maggot is to be found in the same fruit. 

 Apparently many of the maggots are nearly full grown about the 

 time the fruit is readv to pick, and thev And their wav into the con- 

 sumer's hands. Atflicted orchardists report that but few of the 

 infested cherries fall from the trees, hence when the maggots em ei-ge 

 they doubtless drop to the ground, where they soon bury themselves 

 just beneath the surface. Yery soon after entering the ground, 

 probably within a day or two, the maggots contract, their skin 

 hardens and turns brown, and i\\e jnipariiom stage is formed. The 

 maggots will change to puparia in any convenient place, as the bot- 

 tom of baskets, rubbish, etc. 



Ntiinher of broods. — We have some puparia which were formed 

 in our breeding cages as early as July 11th, from which no flies 

 have yet emerged. Hence we conclude that the insect winters as a 

 puparium, and furthermore, that there is but a single brood of this 

 new cherry pest in a year. Evidently the insect may spend ten or 

 even elev-en months of its life in the soil in the puparia stage. 



How THE Insect May be Spread. 



As it infests only the fruit, one need have little or no fear of 

 receiving this new cherry pest from nurserymen. If nursery trees 

 happen to be grown under infested clierry trees, it is j)ossi!>le tliat a 



