628 Report op Entomologists of the 



had to be kept in an ordinary living room. Furthermore no larvae 

 were found in spinach leaves until after the 15th of May, 1895. 



Howard * gives from three to four days as the time required for 

 the eggs to hatch, seven to eight days as the larval or maggot stage 

 and twenty days for the puparium or resting stage ; thus making 

 the length of the Life-cycle about one month. Specimens of 

 Pegomyia vlcina bred from the leaves of beet by Prof. Comstock 

 emerged after twenty-days pupation. Dr. Lintner says : " The 

 period of their (the beet leaf miner) pupation was not ascertained." 

 It will probably be found not to vary much from two weeks. 

 Bruner gives ten days as the time required for one specimen which 

 he bred from Chenopodium to change from the maggot to the 

 adult. Specimens taken here in leaves of Chenopodiwni album 

 June Tth commenced to issue June 30, 1895. 



We can safely assume that the period for a generation of the flies, 

 throughout the summer, as given by Prof. Howard for material 

 which was bred in California is approximately correct for the same 

 species of fly in other sections of the country. Here on Long 

 Island the larvae or maggots have been found for the two seasons of 

 1894 and 1895 working on spinach as late as November 20th. They 

 were observed feeding on Chenopodium throughout the entire 

 season of 1895. As previously stated they were noticed mining 

 spinach leaves as early as the middle of May. Thus in this locality 

 they have an abundance of food plants and the season is long enough 

 for them to produce seven broods. Hence wx can safely assume 

 that there are six if not seven broods in this section of the State; 

 the last brood passing the winter in the puparium or resting stage. 

 As we have no insectary, or even a green house, where food plants 

 can be grown and the broods separated it was impossible to determine 

 definitely the number of broods. 



Habits. — The adult flies are not very conspicuous. They can be 

 seen by close observation flying near the surface of the ground, 

 hovering around " Pigweed " or crawling over the leaves. The eggs 

 are usually deposited on the lower surface of the leaf and are 

 arranged in twos and threes, sometimes in fours and fives. (See Fig. 

 1, Plate IV.) 



* Insect Life Vol. VII, p. 378. 



