34S 



INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS OP CALIFORNIA. 



puparia are regularly oval, dark brown to 

 almost black, about I inch in length and one 

 third as wide. 



Life History. — It is believed that the eggs 

 are laid in the early spring, by the adults, near 

 the buds of the food plants, for here the mag- 

 gots usually enter and form an enlargement or 

 gall, where feeding and pupation take place. 



Nature of Work. — The presence of the 

 maggots is indicated by the small galls, or 

 swellings, at the bases of the buds along the 

 steins of the pink-flowering wistaria. 



Distribution. — Undoubtedly this fly is 

 quite widely distributed, but it is reported 

 only from San Diego County. 



Food Plants. - The fly appears to attack 

 only the pink flowering varieties of wistaria. 



Control. — Cutting out and burning the in- 

 fested branches and avoiding the planting of 

 the pink flowering varieties are the best 

 methods of controlling or avoiding the attack's 

 of this fly. 



THE DIPTEROUS PARASITE OF THE 

 COTTONY CUSHION SCALE 



Gryptochcetum icerya (Williston) 255 

 l Lestophonvs iceryce Williston) 



Description. — The adults of this very bene- 

 ficial insect are exceedingly small two-winged 

 flies, about T V inch long. The head and thorax 

 are metallic-blue and the abdomen bright iri- 

 descent-green. The antenna? are black; legs, 

 black or dark brown with feet light ; wings, 

 grayish, hyaline with dark brown veins. 



Life History. — The life history has never 

 been fully studied and there are many con- 

 flicting opinions regarding it. Mr. E. J. 

 Vosler. Assistant Superintendent of the State 

 Inseetary, reared flies from the bodies of the 

 scales. 



Distribution. — This fly is practically con- 

 fined to the citrus growing sections of southern 

 California and is most abundant in Los 

 Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties. 

 Professor R. W. Doane has reared specimens 

 from the cottony cushion scale at Stanford 

 University, where it is fairly common. 



"According to Frederick Knab, the species preying upon the cottony cushion or 

 fluted scale in California is probably Cryptochatum monophlebi Skuse and not Cryp- 

 tocheetwm iceryw (Will.) as has been previously reported. (Insecutor Inscitise Men- 

 struus, II, No. ::, pp, 33-35, 1<>14) 



Fig. 345.— "Wistaria stems, 

 showing galls produced by 

 the wistaria stem gall-fly, 

 Agromyxa websteri Malloch. 



Enlarged. ( After Amundsen, 

 Mo. Bui. Cal. Ilort. Com.) 



