PSYCHE 



VOL. XIX. OCTOBER, 1912. No. 5 



THE YELLOW CURRANT FLY OR GOOSEBERRY FRUIT 

 FLY. (EPOCHRA CANADENSIS LOEW.) 



By John Howard Paine, 

 Stanford University, California. 



HISTORY AND DISTRIBUTION. 



The Yellow Currant Fly, or The Currant Fly, as it was called 

 until the appearance in Washington of a similar insect (Rhagoletis 

 ribicola Doane) ^ affecting the same hosts made the use of a more 

 specific name necessary, was first described by Loew in 1873 from 

 a single faded specimen contributed by Osten Sacken. The type 

 locality is either Canada or Maine, Osten Sacken giving Norway, 

 Maine, as the locality for his material and Loew giving Canada as 

 a locality upon the authority of Mr. Provancher. One cannot say 

 how long the species may have been known before its description, 

 and Osten Sacken saj's that it "seems to be common in those 

 regions." If he knew of its currant-infesting habits, no mention 

 was made of them. 



In 1883 the Currant Fly was again brought to notice when its 

 currant-infesting habits were recorded for the first time by Saunders, 

 though his knowledge on the subject was apparently slight. 



The first detailed account of this species was given by Prof. 

 C. P. Gillette who found it very abundant in Colorado. He 

 noticed the flies ovipositing and observed the eggs under the skin, 

 also stating that the affected currants ripened prematurely and 

 dropped to the ground where the maggots remained in them for 

 some time. He recorded one brood. 



Dr. F. L. Harvey in 1895 gives us the most detailed account of 

 the Currant Fly and its habits, with numerous figures. He 

 records it as abundant in Maine, Washington and British Coluni- 



^Piper and Doane, Insects Injurious to Currants and Gooseberries. Bull. 36. Wash. Ag. 

 Exp. Sta. 1898. 



