EiGETH Report of tee State Entomologist. 149 



herger's observations as recorded of Diplosis nigra in loc. cit. This 

 is so circumstantial, that it seems deserving of acceptance as having 

 been carefully observed by him, and conclusive as to the time and 

 manner of the egg-deposit. That the eggs are deposited in the blossom, 

 rather than in the young fruit as believed by some, * finds seeming con- 

 firmation in the fact stated by Mr. Cole, that upon the falling of the 

 blossom petals and the first forming of the fruit, the presence of the 

 larvae may be already detected in the abnormal growth. 

 Schmidberger's account is as follows: 



When the blossom-buds of the pear-tree were so far developed that 

 in the single blossoms a petal showed itself between the segments of the 

 calyx, I found the first gall-midge in the act of laying its eggs in the 

 blossom; this was on the 12th of April. It had fixed itself almost 

 perpendicularly in the middle of a single blossom, and having pierced 

 the petal through with its long ovipositor, it laid its eggs on the 

 anthers of the slill closed blossom. The female was about seven and a 

 half minutes in laying her eggs. When she had flown away, I cut the 

 pierced bud in two, and found the eggs lying in a heap one upon 

 another on the anthers. They were white, longish, on one side 

 pointed and transparent, and from ten to twelve in number. I after- 

 wards found several midges engaged in laying their eggs, as late as the 

 18th of April, from which day they ceased to appear in the garden. I 

 also saw a gall-midge on the side of a blossom with its ovipositor 

 inserted in it, so that they do not merely pierce the petals but the calyx 

 also. I even saw one, which having been somewhat long in laying its 

 eggs, could not draw out the ovipositor from the blossom; the cause of 

 which I conceived to be, that the wound had begun to close during the 

 operation, and the ovipositor was therebj^ held, 



Schmidberger further states that the eggs are quickly hatched in 

 warm weather, for on the fourth day after the deposit he had found the 

 small larvae on the embryo blossom. They bore into it near the calyx, 

 and before the blossom is expanded, they descend to the core, so as not 

 to be exposed to the rays of the sun. They separate at the coi'e and 

 begin to devour on all sides. 



Distribution of the Midge. 



The midge still continues its work at Meriden, Conn., where it was 

 first detected, but with less severity than at first. Mr. Coe has written 

 to me recently that it has this year taken one-half of his Lawrence 

 and Dana pears on about three hundred trees. 



When first discovered at Catskill, I thought it probable that it had 

 been brought in trees purchased in Meriden, but was assured that none 

 had been introduced from that locality or imported from abroad. 



* See Professor J. B. Smith, in Insect Life, iv, 1891, p. 45. 



