1913] Johnson — Species of Drosophila 203 



taken several specimens of this Southern species in Philadelphia, 

 in 1898, had received it from Providence, R. I., in 1904 and from 

 Fall River, Mass., in 1905. Recently Dr. E. P. Felt recorded the 

 species as having been taken in New York City and also at Albany 

 in September and October, 1908. 



Another species which appeared later (October 15-20) in large 

 numbers in the same jars of fungi, was D. busckii Coq., a species 

 described from the District of Columbia, West Virginia and Illi- 

 nois in 1901. In 1908 Mr. Wm. Reiff obtained this species from 

 , his breeding cages at Forest Hills, Mass., and in 1912, Mr. P. W. 

 Whiting also obtained it at the same locality on decayed meat, 

 while breeding Lucilia. 



It seems hardly possible that these social flies could have escaped 

 detection if they had been here in numbers for any length of time, 

 nor is it likely that they have been introduced suddenly by com- 

 merce, although the fruit trade may have aided in the wide distri- 

 bution of D. repleta throughout the United States, as recorded by 

 Mr. Frederick Knab in Psyche Vol. XIX, June, 1912. 



The corresponding distribution of D. repleta and D. melano- 

 gaster Meig. (D. ampelophila Loew) and the fact that in America 

 both were first described from Cuba, seem to point conclusively 

 to similar lines of dispersal. In 1862, Loew described D. ampelo- 

 phila and in a note says: "Drosophila ampelophila is very frequent 

 in the Southern regions of Europe, nor is it entirely wanting to 

 middle Europe; it also inhabits the Southern parts of Africa." 

 [Translation.] 



Meigen in 1830 had described the form with blackish abdomen 

 from Europe as D. melanogaster and the same form was described 

 by Zetterstedt in 1847 as D. nigriventris. In 1875, Rondani de- 

 scribed the yellow form from Italy as D. uvarum. 



From the time of Loew's description in 1862 until about 1879, 

 there seems to be no record in America bearing positively on this 

 species. Then a number of articles were published indicating that 

 their appearance in great numbers was evidently not a common 

 occurrence. In the Canadian Entomologist, Vol. 14, p. 101, 1882, 

 G. G. Bowles of Montreal says: "In August of 1879, I met with 

 a small dipterous fly, Drosophila ampelophila Loew, in considera- 

 ble numbers." In the same Journal, page 138, 1882, Dr. W. S. 

 Williston says: "In the Autumn of 1879, I bred and recognized 



