276 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vol. 15 



counted 100 plants, and found that between 80 and 90 of them were 

 infested. 



I visited the field by his request on May 26, 1921, perhaps two weeks 

 after setting. At that time nearly all of the maggots had left the plants 

 and most of them had pupated in the soil close to the stems of the plants. 

 It seemed to me that most of these plants would recover, but the manager 

 stated that any injury to the pith is sufficiently serious so that the plant 

 will never develop a good crop of wrapper leaf tobacco. This opinion 

 seems to be shared by experienced tobacco growers generally. 



Material was gathered and placed in breeding cages in the insectary 

 and on May 31 and following, several adult flies emerged. Specimens 

 were sent to the Bureau of Entomology at Washington, and the species 

 was identified as Hylemyia cilicrura Rond., otherwise known as Phorbia 

 (or Pegomyia) fusciceps Zett., commonly called the "seed corn maggot," 

 and the "beanmaggot." This insect is closety allied to the onion maggot, 

 Hylemyia antiqua Schiner, the cabbage maggot, Chortophila {Phorbia) 

 brassicae Bouche, and the spinach leafminer, Pegomyia hyoscyami 

 Panz. Though this insect has an extensive literature and is known 

 to attack a great number of vegetable and field crops, I have not been 

 able to find tobacco mentioned as a food plant. Now the insect is 

 guilty on another count. 



The tobacco was grown on a light sandy soil, and the manager informed 

 me that this particular section of twenty acres was covered with clover 

 the preceding season and was plowed under last spring. The ground 

 was harrowed and reset, and no further trouble developed. The injury 

 was not found on any other ground except on this section where clover 

 sod was plowed under. 



Mr. W. p. Flint: It might be interesting to know that we had two 

 cases in Illinois this year where newly set strawberry plants were injured 

 in the same way by the com seed maggot. In one rather large field, 

 about two and one-half acres in all, there were spots over the whole 

 field where plants were destroyed. 



President George A. Dean: The next paper is by Z. P. Metcalf, 



THE TRAP BED METHOD FOR THE CONTROL OF THE 

 TOBACCO FLEA BEETLE 



By Z. P. Metcalf, Raleigh, N. C. 



(Withdrawn for publication elsewhere) 

 Mr. E. G. Kelly: I would like to ask at what time the farmers 

 spread the canvas over the beds. 



