182 MANUAL OF VEGETABLE-GARDEN INSECTS 



Fig. 102. — Egg of 

 the carrot rust- 

 fly (X 26). 



The parent insect (Fig. 101) is a small two-winged fly about 



^ inch in length. The body is shining dark green ; the head 



yellowish with the eyes red. The legs are pale yellowish. In 

 New York the flies usually make their appear- 

 ance some time in May, depending on weather 

 conditions. Observation of the flies confined 

 in cages has shown that they feed for about 

 five days before they are ready to begin egg- 

 laying. In the field they doubtless subsist on 

 such drops of liquid as they may find. The 

 mouth-parts are somewhat similar to those 

 of the house fly, that is, they are developed 

 into a fleshy, tongue-like organ with which 



the insect is able to lick or lap up liquids. 



The female fly has the tip of the abdomen provided w^ith a 



sharp, extensile ovipositor by means of which she is able to 



tuck her eggs into crevices of 



the soil around the plant. Some 



of the eggs are laid between the 



base of the plant and the soil 



but many are found scattered 



about on the surface of the ground 



near the plant ; others are attached 



to the plant itself. Females have 



also been observed depositing eggs 



in cracks at some little distance 



from the plant. The egg (Fig. 



102) is about -^ inch in length 



and about ^ as wide as long. 



It is elongate oval, white in color 



and under the microscope shows 



a most beautiful sculptured pattern of delicate ridges and 



pits. Eggs have been found in abundance the last of May. 



The eggs hatch in about a week and the young maggot 



\ 



Fig. 103. — Young carrots in- 

 jured by rust-fly maggots. 



