August, '17] TUCKER: PEGOMYIA FUSCICEPS AND FIELD CROPS 405 



Baptist parish, La., January 21, 1916, an examination of them revealed 

 a single adult fly of the species Pegomyia jusciceys Zett., a plump red 

 mite which may have been an enemy of the fly, and a number of spring- 

 tails, possibly Smynthurus sp. The transmitter thought that such in- 

 sects had cut the roots of the young plants and also eaten some of the 

 tomato and cauHflower seeds. Advice was requested as to what treat- 

 ment should be given. Answer to this question is covered in extract 

 presented under the heading of "Reference." Considering that the 

 occurrence of the fly indicated an infestation of the bed by maggots of 

 its kind, the cutting of the roots of the plants could well be attributed 

 to attacks by the latter form of pest. These injuries might have been 

 made worse by work of the springtails, which very likely did other 

 harm, including the destruction of the seeds. 



Ravages in Onions 



Ravages committed bj^ the same insect in onions were brought to 

 attention through a report which came to hand from Paulina, St. James 

 parish. La., dated Janyary 22, 1916, stating that a pest in the form of 

 a "worm" had cut into the plants at the surface of the ground. The 

 trouble occurred in a patch of transplanted Creole onions which had 

 been put out three weeks before on land that had produced sorghum 

 during the preceding summer and Irish potatoes for a fall crop. Other 

 patches of onions planted where sweet potatoes had been grown were 

 declared to have no enemy of the kind at all. In the first plat, the foe 

 was found by opening the little onions. It was described as a white 

 worm of small size, measuring about one eighth of an inch in length and 

 being no thicker than a needle. 



As desired, samples of the infested onions were transmitted six days 

 later. From specunens of the insect thus obtained, the species was 

 identified by Mr. W. R. Walton, Federal Bureau of Entomology, 

 through the kindness of Dr. F. H. Chittenden. The instructions 

 furnished in regard to treatments for checking further advances of the 

 pest emphasized the importance of pulling up and destroying all the 

 infested onions in order to kill the maggotfe before they could develop 

 into flies. Warning was given that the insect if allowed to mature 

 would be able to reach other patches, and these adults by depositing 

 their eggs all through the fields would be very apt to bring on a wide- 

 spread infestation with the issue of a new brood of maggots. 



Reference 



Tucker, E. S. Stsm Maggots Attacking Young Tomato Plants. 1914. Southern 



Farmer (Baton Rouge, La.), vol. 1, No. 9, May, p. 9. 



A notice of the losses experienced by the growers at Norwood, La., contains the 



following remarks on control of the insect: "Practical methods of checking or 



preventing attacks on the tomato plants were promptly employed, and two kinds of 



