PEAR AND QUINCE INSECTS 



225 



The Pear Midge 



Contarinia pyrivora Riley 



This European enemy of the pear was introduced into Con- 

 necticut about 1877 and has spread into New York and New 



Jersey. It attacks all varieties of 

 pears, but has a decided preference 

 for the Lawrence. Its spread has 

 been rather slow and it has not 

 become as serious a check to the 

 pear industry as was anticipated. 

 The adult insect is a small 

 midge, about ^ inch in length, 

 closely resembling a mosquito. 

 They appear about the time the 

 blossoms begin to show color, and 

 the female deposits, by means of 

 her long flexible ovipositor, a mass 

 of 12 to 45 minute, yellowish - 

 white, elongate eggs in the in- 

 terior of the unopened blossom. 

 The eggs hatch in 4 days or more, 

 depending on the temperature ; 

 and the minute, whitish larvae 



to .show larviE of the pear midge. ^Q^k their way doWTl into the 

 Enlarged. i i -i i 



ovary, destroy the core and 

 hollow out a large irregular cavity, which frequently occupies 

 nearly the whole interior of the young fruit (Fig. 204). 

 Infested fruits at first become abnormally enlarged and later 

 stunted and deformed. The larvae become full grown early 

 in June and escape from the fruit usually through cracks 

 which occur after heavy rains (Fig. 205). In dry seasons 

 the fruit may fall before cracking open ; in such cases the 



Q 



Fig. 204. — A younmx'ar cut open 



