302 PROCEEDINGS OP THE ACADEMY OF [1883. 



A Fungus infecting Flies. — Prof. Leidy directed attention to 

 a vial filled with flies adherent to fragments of leaves. He stated 

 that on the first of August, the last summer, he had noticed that 

 from the swarm of flies that were attracted by the ripe fruit of a 

 black mulberrry, Moms nigra, many settled on the under side of 

 the leaves, and there became fixed and died from the invasion of 

 a fungus, in the same manner as the house-fly often becomes 

 attached to walls and window-panes, in the autumn, through the 

 agenc}' of the fungus known as the Sporendonema. The infested 

 flies on the mulberr3'-tree were so numerous, that perhaps a fourth 

 of the foliage ot ihe lower boughs had from one to half a dozen of 

 the flies adherent to each leaf. The fly, though a familiar one, is 

 unknown by name to him. It resembles the house-fly, but is larger 

 and has a black abdomen with lateral whitish spots. The fungus, 

 of a fuscous hue, is especially evident in the extended intervals of 

 tlie segments of the abdomen, along the sides of the tliorax and 

 at the neck. Though extending to and attaching the flies to the 

 leaves, the specimens do not exhibit the zone of spores on the 

 leaf as commonly seen in those of infested house-flies. Micro- 

 scopic examination exhibited a similar structure of the fungus to 

 that of the Uporendonema or Empusa muscse. It mainly consists 

 of translucent cylindrical, straight or somewhat toi'tuous rods or 

 tubes of variable length with rounded ends, and containing homo- 

 geneous liquid with rows of oil-like globules. Mingled with the 

 tubes are numerous oval, ovoid, and pjriform spore-like bodies, 

 usually each with two oil like globules. The spore-like bodies 

 measure 0-028 to 0-036 mm. long, by 0-016 mm. thick. The 

 longer tubes measure usually' up to 0-16 mm. long, b^- 0-012 mm. 

 thick. 



On Manaxjunkia. — Prof. Letdy made some remarks on a speci- 

 men of llanayunkia, of which he exhibited a drawing, and which 

 had been recently obtained by Mr. Edward Potts, from the mill- 

 ])ond of Absecom Creek, at Absecom, N. J. It was of especial 

 interest as apparently confirming the fresh-water habit of a cepha- 

 lobranch annelide. The worm was contained in a tube attached 

 to the midrib of a decayed leaf, to which there were attached 

 several similar but empty tubes about one line long. The worm, 

 1-5 mm. long, appears to be an immature form of 3Ianayunkia 

 speciosa. The body consists of ten setigerous segments succeeding 

 the head. The latter supports two lophophores, each with ten 

 tentacles, of which none are conspicuously larger than the others. 

 A pair of eyes occupy the head, but no pigment spots exist along 

 the base of the tentacles. Tlie podal sette are from two to four, 

 but mostly three, on each side of the segments. The podal hooks, 

 but one on each side of the setigerous segments, except the first 

 of the latter, which has none; and the last two, which liave rows of 

 six comb-like hooks on each side. The worm is translucent white, 

 and the blood very pale green. 



