October, '14] WOODS: RHAGOLETIS IN blueberries . 399 



, they were smaller. Specimens were submitted to Mr. C. W. Johnson 

 of Boston, who very kindly determined them as midoubtedly Rhagole- 

 tis pomonella. It is interesting to note in this connection that the 

 flies reared from huckleberries in Connecticut were also below the 

 normal size of the apple forms. 



On August 19, when the plains were again visited, six more adults 

 were taken. Larvae were by this time common on the plains. When 

 the maggots are small, an infested berry cannot be distinguished by 

 sight from a sound one, but usually' when they have attained a fair 

 size the fruit becomes very much shrivelled and shrunken. At all 

 times, even when the larvae are small, an infested berry can easily 

 be distinguished by the touch, for it feels soft and mushy, and this is 

 the surest external indication that it has been attacked. In an in- 

 fested berry, the pulp becomes red and string}'. Maggots were found 

 at this time in all stages from very small ones to those fully grown. 

 The maggot appears to become full fed in one berry, which it leaves 

 by an irregularly shaped exit hole through the skin, in order to pupate 

 in the ground. 



The berries are picked by a rake somewhat similar to that used for 

 cranberries, and usually are given a preliminary winnowing in the 

 field to remove the leaves, etc. Many of the infested berries are also 

 blown out in this process as they are much lighter than the others. 

 While the maggots were common to abundant on the plains, it should 

 be stated that the blueberries grew so profusely, oftentimes being so 

 plentiful as literally to color the ground blue, that only a small propor- 

 tion of the fruit was: infested. The testimony of the pickers varied 

 greatly, but the opinion of most seemed to be that the maggots became 

 more and more numerous as the season advanced, and that a wet 

 season was particularly favorable to their development. 



A third trip on September 5 showed the maggots still present and 

 common in all stages. 



Berries were placed under breeding cages on cheese cloth spread 

 over moist dirt, and the larvae that had left the berries, as well as the 

 pupae, were removed from these cages as follows : 



Matebial Collected July 30 

 29 pupae on August 22. 



Material Collected August 19 

 Aug. 22 Aug. 23 Aug. 2.5 Aug. 27 Aug. 28 Aug. 30 Sept. 2 Sept. 4 Sept. 8 

 Pupa? 7 4 4 33 7 22 38 10 50 



Larv£D 4 6 20 3 7 2 7 2 



Material Collected September 5 



Sept. 9 Sept. 13 Sept. 1.5 Sept. 22 Sept. 24 Sept. 26 

 Pupa? 20 16 12 15 ,18 4 



Larva? 9 14 26 5 1 4 



