630 Eepoet op Entomologists op thd 



them to the surface of the leaf. Beneath lliis retirnlated cover- 

 ing; is a semi-transparent membrane. 



The maggot or larva is about five-sixteenths of an inch long, when 

 full grown, larger at the posterior than at the anterior end. When 

 first taken from the leaf they have a white, glassy appearance. 

 In the posterior half of the body the green contents of the intes- 

 tine show quite distinctly, while the black, hook-like jaws, or what 

 answers for jaws, can be seen as a curved line at the anterior end. 

 (See Fig. 2, Plate lY.) 



The puparium, or resting stage, is about .21 of an inch long, 

 chestnut brown in color when first formed but soon changing 

 to a dark brown and difiicult to distinguish from the surrounding 

 soil. 



The flies are quite variable in size. They usually carry the body 

 in a slightly curved position. The front of the head is silvery 

 white with a reddish brown line extending vertically through the 

 centre. The females are of an olivaceous ash color, and can be dis- 

 tinguished from the males by the following characters : The eyes 

 are smaller and placed further apart than in the male. The legs, 

 excepting the tarsi, are yellow or reddish yellow. The body is not 

 as hairy as in the males, nor are the hairs as long, except at the end 

 of the abdomen where there is a distinct tuft of long hairs. (See 

 Fig. 5', Plate IV.) The males are darker colored than the females, 

 more hairy ; the femora of the front pair of legs are nearly the same 

 color as the body, the remaining legs are the same color as in the 

 females. The eyes are large and nearly meet on the crest of the 

 head.* 



Enemies. — Thus far no parasites have been bred from the 

 material collected. No indications of parasites have been found in 

 the field ; neither do I find any record of parasites having been 

 reared. 



In the field maggots were often found dead within the leaf. For 

 some time it was a question as to what was the cause of this, until 

 finally the finding of the bugs {Coriscus fe7-us\ Lin7i.) shown at 

 Fig. 6 and 6' Plate lY, were found hunting under spinach leaves. 

 These bugs were too wary to be caught in the act of killing maggots, 



*For a technical description see 1st Rept. St. £nt. p. 209. 



