THE CLoveR SEED CHALCID 101 
DISTRIBUTION 
The clover seed chalcid appears to be widely distributed over the 
United States, altho southern records are few. In Minnesota it is 
recorded from Duluth, Hinckley, Meadow Lands, Detroit, Bemidji, 
Audubon, Fergus Falls, Wadena, Verndale, St. Cloud, Park Rapids, 
Itasca Park, Monticello, Windom, Worthington, Owatonna, Winona, 
Montgomery, Mankato, Chatfield, Lewiston, Stewartville and in and 
around Saint Paul and Minneapolis. As to foreign distribution, we 
quote from Urbahns (1914) “Injury from this insect has been ob- 
served in cultivated alfalfa seed imported from Germany, Turkestan 
and Chile, and in both the cultivated and uncultivated varieties of 
alfalfa seed from Turkey and Siberia.” 
Foop PLANTS 
As before stated, when it was discovered the species were reared 
from heads of red clover, Trifolium pratense L., altho at the time its 
true relation to the plant was not recognized. In the eastern part of 
the United States and in this section red clover seems to be the favorite 
food plant. The mammoth variety is infested as well as the medium. 
Crimson clover, Trifolium incarnatum L., also is subject to attack and 
it is interesting to note that it was from seeds of this plant that speci- 
mens were reared by Hopkins (1898) when he discovered the real feed- 
ing habits of the species. 
While it received the name it bears because it was first observed 
infesting the seeds of red clover, more recently it has become an even 
worse pest of alfalfa seed in the region where this crop is grown to a 
large extent. Bur clover, Medicago hispida Gaertn., is another food 
plant. 
Apparently the chalcid does not attack white clover, alsike, and 
sweet clover. This statement is based on the fact that we have often 
looked for it on these plants and have never found it, and have always 
got negative results when attempting to breed the species in cages 
containing seeds of white clover, alsike and sweet clover. 
On July 30, 1912, observations were made on a female chalcid 
confined in a shell vial containing a head of red clover in full bloom. 
It crawled over many of the florets, touching each repeatedly with its 
antennae. It thrust its ovipositor into several of them, usually into the 
side through the calyx tube. When it could not do this on account of 
the crowded condition of the florets, it would stand on the top, inserting 
its ovipositor into the mouth of the corolla. The red clover head was 
removed and the insect was tried with sweet clover and then with 
