130 HOP. 



proved (^Yllon submitted for examination to Mr. R. H. Meade) 

 to be the Dilopltus ruhiaris, Meigen, a small two-winged fly 

 (for size and sliai^e see figure, p. 129), of which the males are 

 intensely black ; the females have the abdomen brown, and 

 the wings brown or blackish. A second brood appears in 

 autumn. 



The amount of damage that it may cause is worth watching, 

 for, as far as we see at present, it is one of the instances in 

 which the grubs are double-feeders. They are considered to 

 lire upon the roots of x>lants, particularly of Grass and Corn. 

 John Curtis, in his ' Farm Insects,' p. 467, notices this same 

 species of Diloplius, then known £isfebrilis, Linn., as " exceed- 

 ingly abundant every year, and the larvae causing much 

 damage in the gardens "; but also the grubs are to be found 

 both in horse and cow manure, and were noted by Curtis as 

 found in considerable quantity in "a vine border amongst the 

 horse muck."— (' Card. Chron.' 1844.) 



Looking at these various points together, it seems very 

 likely that the flies lay their eggs in the manure, and thus the 

 grubs are introduced to the roots of the plants ; and if, on 

 further investigation, the damage done to the roots prove im- 

 portant, it is this point (the presence of the grub in manure) 

 which will be the one to look to first. 



Hop Flea. 



Haltica conclnna, Curtis ('Farm In.') = Chcctocneina cowt«?w, Marsh. 



1 and 2, Hop Flea, nat. size and magnified ; 3, hind leg, magnified. 



This species of Hop Flea, known as the Brassy or Tooth- 

 legged Turnip Flea, is very like the common Turnip Flea or 

 Fly-beetle, but differs in being more oval, convex, and shiny. 

 It is of a greenish black colour, with a brassy or coppery tint ; 

 the horns are only half as long as the body, and of a pitchy 

 colour, more rust-coloured towards the head ; the wing-cases 

 have ten lines of deep dots along each ; the legs are black, 



