Volume IX NOVEMBER, 1922 Nos. 3 & 4 



A STUDY OF THE LIFE-HISTORY OF THE ONION 

 FLY {HYLEMYIA ANTIQUA, MEIGEN)i 



By KENNETH M. SMITH, A.R.C.S., 

 Adviser in Agricultural Entomology, Manchester University, 



(With Plates X and XI.) 



Introduction. 



The Onion-Fly has become a very serious pest of late years and is wide- 

 spread throughout the country, more particularly in Lancashire and 

 Cheshire where the observations recorded in this paper were made. 



As in the cases of the Carrot and Cabbage Flies, the damage done by 

 the maggots is all to the root and underground portions of the plant. 

 In the larval condition, the food consists chiefly of onions but the maggot 

 occasionally attacks shallots and leeks and has been recorded from Wales 

 as feeding on tulip bulbs. 



The pest is so plentiful in Lancashire that in certain districts, especi- 

 ally near large towns, it is impossible to grow onions at all. 



Synonyms. 



The Onion-Fly has been known under many names. The various 

 synonyms include the following : 



Phorbia ceparum, Meig. Anthomyia ceparum 



Phorhia cepetorum, Meade Anthomyia antiqua 



Pegomyia cepetorum Hylemyia antiqua, Meig. 

 Pegomyia ceparum 



The synonyms most commonly in use at present are Phorbia cepetorum, 

 Meade, and Hylemyia antiqua, Meig. In his Descriptive List of the British 

 Anthomyiidae, Meade gives the fly the name P. cepetorum and describes 

 quite another species under H. antiqua. The Palaearctic Catalogue of 

 Diptera and Stein's recent Monograph of the European Anthomyiidae, 

 however, give the name as Hylemyia antiqua, Meig. It is, therefore, 

 likely that Meade mis-identified this fly or described the same species 

 twice. 



It will be more correct in the future to refer to it under the name of 

 Hylemyia antiqua, Meig. 



1 A grant in aid of publication has been made for this communication. 

 Ann. Biol, ix 12 



