30 



The pupa. — The pupa i.s .sufficiently whowu at figure 7, d. It meas- 

 ures about 7.5'"'" in length and is nearly white in color, the eyes turn- 

 ing- darker as it approaches the time for tinal transformation. 



The change to pupa in the confinement of our rearing jars took 

 place in the pith of sunflower stems placed there for the purpose. A 

 cocoon is shown at figure 7, e. 



DISTRIBUTION. 



Little can at present be said of the distribution of this species. Like 

 the majority of sawfiies, it is most alnuidant in the North, Imt has 

 undoubtedly been disseminated by commerce in shipments of violets 

 and pansies from one place to another. Its occurrence has not been 

 noted out-of-doors in the vicinity of the District of Columljia to the 

 writer's knowledge, and it would therefore seem probable that it is a 

 comparatively recent introduction, if we may use the term in speak- 

 ing of a native species being estal>lished in new localities. The known 

 distribution embraces Plattsburg, llhinebeck, and Povighkeepsie, 

 N. Y. ; Garrett Park, Md., Toronto and Ottawa, Canada. 



It is not a little singular that a northern species of insect as this 

 seems certainly to be should become acclimatized in greenhouses as far 

 south as the District, since it is a well-established fact that a very large 

 proportion of the insects that lead an indoor life are of tropical origin. 



HISTORY OF THK SPECIES. 



This species was first descrilxMl in the year 1878 by the Abbe L. 

 Provancher as Empkytm paU'ipeK^ a name preoccupied by Spinola for 

 a European species of this genus. Kirb^^'s description of E. canadensis 

 appeared in 1882 (List Hymen. Brit. Mus., Vol. I, p. 204). There are 

 several accounts bearing on the biology of this species. One is by 

 Dr. H. (t. Dyar, of the U. S. National Museum, published in 1891 in 

 the Canadian Entomologist, in which he describes the larva in the last 

 two stages and gives some brief notes on its habits and occurrence on 

 cultivated pansies at Plattsburg, N. Y. In the Florists' Exchange for 

 August 7, 1807, Mr. B. T. Galloway ]jublished a short article on this 

 insect under the title of "Injury to Violet plants,"' the species being 

 identified as " an undetermined sawfly." Brief mention is made of the 

 larva and its manner of work, the article being devoted mainly to 

 methods of control. The nature of injury by the larva is illustrated. 

 This article was rej)ublished in American Gardening for August 21 

 of the same year. In Fauna Ottawacnsis Hymenoptera Phytophagiea, 

 an article ly Mr. W. H. Harrington, published in volume VII, Ottawa 

 Naturalist, and consisting of a list of the Phytophagic Hj^menoptera 

 taken in the neighborhood of Ottawa, Canada, the following appears 

 concerning this species: "Eight females. May 8, June 9. Violets 

 and pansies." 



