142 Psyche [October 



The Pupa. 



After the larva has penetrated the ground to the depth of an 

 inch or two, or perhaps more, it changes to the pupal condition. 

 The pupa is straw colored and rather hard, measuring al^out five 

 millimeters. Throughout this stage the insect is, of course, inac- 

 tive and remains in the ground until the following spring. This 

 fact has suggested some of the methods of control that have been 

 recommended. 



The Adult. 



There appears to be but one brood, the insects remaining in the 

 ground as inactive pupae for ten months. The writer has not had 

 opportunity to observe this personally, but it seems unlikely that 

 a second brood would have escaped notice for so many years. It 

 is reported that growers state that they obtain a second crop of 

 currants after the insects have disappeared. The only evidence 

 that suggests a second brood, is the report of a single specimen of 

 Epnchra canadensis collected at Redwood City late in the summsr. 



As stated above the adults appear about the second week in 

 April and remain near the currant and gooseberry bushes for 

 about a month. The males appear in less numbers than the fe- 

 males, but this may be due to the fact that the former do not con- 

 fine themselves so closely to the bushes. Numbers of males were 

 found upon the limbs of a nearby apricot tree. They show the 

 same restless habits as the females, running about over the bush 

 with wings a-flutter and often with the mouthparts and trans- 

 parent sides of the abdomen distended. On the bushes they seem 

 to show no preference for the fruit, as do the females, but are 

 often found upon the stems. 



Where the adults pass the night was not discovered. A careful 

 search of the currant and gooseberry bushes and of neighboring 

 shrubs and trees in the morning failed to locate the insects. Often 

 they do not appear in the morning till ten o'clock, especially if the 

 weather is cloudy. The adult insect is rather variable in size, 

 the average specimen being about as large as the common housefly. 

 It may be recognized about currant and gooseberry bushes during 

 the last half of April and first part of May by its pale yellow or 

 orange color, green iridescent eyes and wings marked by dark 

 smoky bands (Plate 11, fig. 4). Probably its most notable char- 



