18 



eggs, however, were 

 cause could be dis- 



24th of June, tliis branch was esainined again, when quite a number of the young 

 larvae were found just hatched from the eggs which had then only been laid between four 

 F,o, 9. and Ave days ; many of the 



found dried up, for which no 

 covered. 



On the 30th of June, the larvas of a lace wing fly 

 Chrysopa was observed sucking the juices from the young 

 larvae of N. ventrimsus. This friendly helper was a little 

 more than a quarter of an inch long, and had placed itself 

 in the midst of a colony of the young currant worms and 

 had already consumed several before it was taken in the 

 act. Fig. 10 /> represents one of their larvse about half- 

 grown, the fly is shown in Fig. 11. The female lace wing fly 

 lays her egi;s on long slender stalks, fig. 10 «, placing i|uite 

 a group of them together ; they are very pretty objects. 

 It is supposed that these long stalks .serve the purpose of 

 keeping the unhatched eggs at a safe distance from the 

 young larv» first hatched who would, otherwise, probably 

 eat them up. The perfect insect deposits these egg* 

 quite rapidly. On the 18th of June, when out col- 

 lecting with some friends, one of them captured a lace 

 wing fly and shut it up in a small box. In a few moments after, 

 having occasion to look at it, he found one egg deposited ; after walk- 

 ing a few yards with it to show it to us, which could not have occupied 

 him more than three or four minutes, the box was opened again when 

 it was found that three more eggs had been deposited, we had no oppor- 

 tunity of watching the further deposition or maturing of these eggs. The 

 lace wing fly larvae are very voracious, and if suflBciently numerous would 

 prove formidable foes to the currant worm. 



From about the 12th of May to the end of the season, the 

 currant worms were very abundant. .The earlier broods seem to 

 confine their operations almost entirely to the gooseberry bushe.*, 

 but after two or three weeks they attack the currant bushes ijfitli 

 equal vigour. On the 16th of June, we noted the fact that the 

 full grown larvae in great numbers, others half grown or more and 

 young colonies of the newly hatched larva; were all to be found at 

 that date on the same bushes. About the last of July, many colonies of these newly hatched 

 larvse were found almost entirely destroyed by some undiscovered foe ; probably some beneficial 

 insect. Many leaves were found with the rows of empty egg shells on them and with a few 

 holes eaten in them, but with the greater part of their subt^tauce uninjured, and with but little 

 or no injury to the leaves .surrounding ; here evidently the greater portion of the larv« had been 

 destroyed soon after hatching. 



On the 10th of July, while emptying out a number of the perfect flies from a box, search- 

 ing for the empty pupa case of an icheunion fly found dead in the box, two pupae of ventri- 

 cosus were found. They were very pretty objects, about one quarter of an inch long, of a 

 very pale and delicate whitish green colour, becoming yellowish green at each extremity ; 

 remarkably transparent and delicate looking. The eyes were black and prominent ; the feet, 

 antennae and mouth parts all separately cased, with the same glossy tran.'-parent covering 

 almost crystal-like. The wing cases were similar in appearance, but of a little deeper green, 

 bent under and reaching to the first abdominal segment. The pupa seems to be incapable of 

 movement, a slight quivering only of the limbs could be detected under the microscope when 

 pressed on. The feet all terminated in rounded knobs with no visible claws. 



Thi Currant Measdrino Worm EUqiia (Abraxis), ribearia, Fitch. 



This insect has also been very abundant during the past aummer. As early as the third 

 week in May, the young larva* were found quite c. ninion on red curr.int, gooseberry and 

 black currant, and by the first of June many of them had grown to^an inch in length; judi.- 



