116 
PEAR. 
Pear Gnat Midge. Diplosis pyrivora, Riley ; Cecidomyia nigra, 
Meigen and Schmidberger ; C. pyricola, Nordlinger.* 
The Pear Gnat Midge is a very frequent trouble to Pear growers 
from the damage caused by its little legless, yellowish white maggots 
living in numbers inside the young Pears in their very early condition. 
Consequently on the maggots feeding within, the growth of the young 
Pears is checked and stunted, the centre decays, and the fruit cracks 
or dies, and drops off. 
This attack was first reported to me in 1883, with good specimens of 
Pears with their growth aborted by the infestation sent accompanying, 
respectively from one of Lord Walsingham’s farms in Norfolk, and 
from near New Quay, Cardiganshire, South Wales, the two localities 
being on the extreme east and west of this island, somewhat suggesting 
that the Pear trouble, if known by sight, might have been observable 
in the country. 
At that time, however, the attack had been so little noticed that 
Prof. C. V. Riley,} Entomologist of the U.S.A. Department of Agri- 
culture, mentioned the above observations as the first time attention 
had been called to it in England. It must, however, have been 
present in this country for several years previously, as in 1874, or 
1875, the well-known entomologist, Edward Newman, received Pears 
affected by this attack from Mr. Hy. Reeks, of Thruxton, which were 
sent on by him to Mr. E. A. Fitch. I do not, however, find that 
anything regarding these specimens was published. 
Since then (1888) the attack has become one of our regularly 
recognized infestations practically; but so much discussion arose 
consequently on its much increased area of distribution here and in 
the United States of America as to the precise scientific name under 
which it might rightly be described, that I postponed bringing the 
observations forward. Now, however, and for some years back, it has 
been agreed, consequently on the investigations of our own well-known 
dipterist, Mr. R. H. Meade, and also those of Prof. C. V. Riley, that 
the previous names of Cecidomyia nigra, of Meigen and Schmidberger, 
* T have not had opportunity of figuring this species, but the various figures of 
Cecidomyiw, in gnat and maggot state, given in various of my Reports and my 
‘Manual,’ will convey a very fair idea of the appearance when magnified, and 
also natural size. 
+ See ‘Insect Life,’ Periodical Bulletin of the U.S.A. Department of Agriculture, 
vol. i., No. 4, p. 120. 
