74 Second Report on Rconomic Zoology. 



Animals injurious to Ornamental Plants. 

 Acari attacking Canariensis. 



Some Canariensis, one of the most useful rapid creepers, has been 

 observed to be killed by Bryohia mites. They killed the plants in one 

 night. Mr. Albert Michael identified them as Bryobia p^etiosa. This 

 species often does a good deal of harm to fruit trees. It is found on 

 ivy, and the attack on the Canariensis was soon traced to the ivy 

 close by, which w\as swarming with them. The mites also swarmed 

 on the wall of the house up which the plants were growing. Spraying 

 with soft soap and liver of sulphur soon destroyed them. 



Narcissus Bulb Pests. 



Amongst the larvae sent by Mr. T. J. Leney from Chertsey 

 damaging narcissus bulbs were not only those of the Narcissus Fly 

 (3Ierodon cq^ucstris, Fab.) recorded in the First Eeport (p. 107), but 

 many smaller ones which have proved to be those of Eumeras 

 strigaius, Fin. The Merodon larvae pupated from November to 

 February. The flies commenced to hatch out on April 29th and 

 continued until May 15th, when the last appeared. The small 

 Eumerus larvai were very numerous, as many as ten occurring in one 

 bulb ; they were found both in company with Merodon and separately. 

 They evidently were just as much the cause of damage as the larger 

 Merodons. These Syrpliidse all feed in their larval state in bulbous 

 roots, but I am not aware of their having been previously recorded as 

 injurious to cultivated bulbs. 



The common species is Eumeras strigatus, Fin. (lumdatus, Mg.) 

 Verrall records two other species — E. sahdonum, Fin., and E. ornatus, 

 Mg. 



Walker mentions two other species as British, namely, E. rufi- 

 coi^nis, Mg., and E. selene, Mg. The former is in the British Museum 

 and is not an Eumcrus but a Chrysochlamys. The small Narcissus 

 Flies hatched out about the same time as the Merodons. The larvae 

 mostly feed at thy lower part of the bulbs, but bore theii' w^ay up 

 between the scales, and were also found oulside the bulbs in the 

 earth in which they all apparently pupated. 



The adult Emnerus seem to mimic in habits small aculeate 

 Hymenoptera such as Halictus ; the habits of the larvas are similar 

 to Merodon. 



