THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



33 



The insect has not spread rapidly to any extent in the Sacramento 

 Valley, so control measures have not been very urgent. However, a 

 true understanding of the life habits and control may prove of great 

 benefit in checking any outbreak which may occur in the future. 



Work. 



The injur}'^ to the fruit is very noticeable as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, i 

 and consists of one or more clean round holes bored into the fruit to 

 the kernel, which, if soft, is devoured, as well as much of the meat 

 around it. If the kernel is hard only the meat is eaten. In many cases 

 half or more of the fruit is eaten away. The work shows quickly upon 

 the young fruit, which soon becomes discolored an^l falls to tlio ground. 

 The attacks usually continue until the fruit is nearly matured but 

 cease before ripening begins. 



Fig. 4. — Stages and work of the cherry fruit sawfly, Hoplocampa cookei (Clarke) : 

 a, egg ; b, position of egg in cherry blossom : c, larva ; d, adult sawfly ; e, saw of 

 ovipositor ; f, serrations on ovipositor ; g, sheath of saw ; h, head of adult ; i, infested 

 cherries, a, c, d, e, f, g and h enlarget.'. (After Foster, U. S. Dept. Agrcl.) 



Description and Life History. 



According to Foster the females appear in the spring just about the 

 time the Black Tartarian cherries are beginning to bloom. The eggs 

 are whitish, some shiny, somewhat kidney shaped, being 0.5 mm. long 

 and 0.3 mm. wide. They are usually deposited in the sepals of the 

 flowers (Fig. 4, h) or in the upper portion of the calyx cup, always on 

 the blossoms just before the petals open. The insertions are made by 

 the sharp ovipositor and the eggs are well buried in the plant tissues. 

 In the valley egg-laying begins about the middle of March. The eggs 

 hatch in about four or five days, though the time often varies from 

 three to six days. They are ordinarily hatched about the time the petals 

 fall. Usually but one egg is deposited in a single flower though this is 

 by no means a fixed rule. Soon after hatching the young larva? eat 



