On Certain Seed-L\festing Chalcis-Flies. 



375 



Lady Apple the punctures produce only a slight blemish on the surface, 

 but the texture of the flesh is considerably injured. 



Apple-seeds in this country are of commercial value only for growing 

 apple stocks for nursery use. Much of the seed for this purpose is 

 imported from France, but native American seed is also used. Nearly all 

 of the latter comes from a single area in Vermont. Having in mind the 

 trouble caused by this insect in the seed-beds at Budapest in Hungary, 

 samples of French and American grown seed were obtained from as 

 many nurseries as possible. None of it was found infested. In this 

 country the seed is obtained from cider-mills by washing out the pomace 

 in a machine built for the purpose. As the light-weight seed is eliminated 

 by this process, the nurserymen are apparently saved from all loss from 

 infested seed. 



We are under obligations to Mr. Dix J. Camp of Vermont for much 

 valuable information in regard to the apple-seed industry and for speci- 

 mens of the various kinds of apples used. 



Remedial measures. — As the insect remains in the seed throughout 

 the winter, a complete destruction of all the apples left under the tree 

 in the fall would doubtless prove an effective remedy. As the adults 

 are good flyers the treatment should be extended to as wide an area 

 as possible. 



THE SORBUS-SEED MEGASTIGMUS 



{Megastigmus brevicaudis Ratzeburg) 



On finding that the Apple-seed 

 Chalcis was originally described from 

 specimens reared from the berries of 

 a species of Mountain Ash (Sorbus 

 scandica), we at once examined the 

 berries of Sorbus accuparia growing 

 on the Cornell University Campus. 

 A large proportion of the seeds 

 were infested. The berries were 

 placed in a cage, left out of doors 

 through the winter and in the spring 

 the adult insect was reared. It proved 

 to be Megastigmus brevicaudis Ratz. 



This species was described in Germany by Ratzeburg" in 1852 from 

 specimens reared by Bouchd from berries of the Mountain Ash. Ratze- 



FiG. 77. — Adult female of the Sorbus- 

 seed Megastigmus 



" Ichneum. Forstinsect., III., p. 225. 



