REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 285 



its whole body is in the air and the anal end only is held in the earth. 

 The skin of the thorax then splits longitudinally and the adult fly (PL 

 Vil^ Fig. 3, a) makes its escax)e. 



PARASITES. 



Three specimens of an undetermined species of the genus Platygasfcr 

 were fouud in the breeding jar contaiuiug the infested pears, on April 

 9 and 11, and had evidently been parasitic upon the larva) of the Pear 

 .Midge, although no parasitcd cocoons of tlie latter were found. iN^o 

 other insect was contained in the jar, and there is little doubt of tlie 

 parasitism. As will be shown later, there is a strong probability of tlie 

 importation of this midge from Europe, and this parasite luay very 

 readily have been brought over with it. There are more than one hun- 

 dred described species of the genus Flatijgasfcr in Europe, the descrii)- 

 tions of many of which are inaccessible. Wnlker's species, of which 

 there are sixty-nine, are very insufficiently described. Hence there will 

 be great difficulty in determining this species, and we hesitate to de- 

 scribe it as new. 



REMEDIES. 



No better, simpler, or more satisfactory remedy can be devised, in the 

 light of what wo now know of the habits of this insect, than that used 

 the last season by tlie Messrs. Coe, which is to strip the fruit from the 

 trees in an '' off year " and destroy it either by burning after covering it 

 with kerosene, or by feeding to hogs before the insects have a chance 

 to escape. This should preferably be done about the middle of May, 

 or before the larva) have attained full growth. So far as known at i)res- 

 ent the insect infests no other fruit than the pear, and it ought not to 

 be impossible for the fruit-growers around Meriden to practically exter- 

 minate this jiest in a single season. In 1884, this remedy was tried on 

 the Coe place, but the insect reappeared in the spring of 1885, in greater 

 numbers than expected, which showed that the picking was not done 

 as thoroughly as supposed, or was done too late, or else that the insect 

 had gained a good foothold in neighboring orchards in which the pick- 

 ing was not tried. In a letter dated Juno 12, 1885, the Messrs. Coo 

 give the result as follows : 



Onr method seemed to answer for all practical i)urposPs, as thoy bad not como Ibis 

 spring in sufficient nnmbers to do damage by diniiDisbing Ibo'crops. This is tbe 

 bearing year for our orcbards and the trees all blossomed abundantly. The insect con- 

 fined itself to its favorite pear iu tbe main. None were found in Aiijou or Seckel and 

 few in otlier vaiii'ties besides tbe Lawrence. Tbe 125 trees of Lawrence bad i^erbaps 

 one-sixtb of tbo fruit infested. 



IS IT AN INTRODUCED SPECIES? 



That this insect has been recently imported from Europe seems quite 

 probable, for the following reasons : 



(1) Until this insect was fouud upon the Coe farm, no insect of similar 

 habits was known in this country. 



(2) An insect of almost precisely similar habits and of identical ap- 

 pearance (except for certain discrepancies which can be explained away) 

 Las been described by European authors, and, as early as 1831, did 

 considerable damage to the j^ear crop in parts of Europe. 



(3) In 1884 Mr. Coe said that some seven years since he imported a 

 large lot of pear stocks from France, upon which were grafted Ameri- 

 cnii pears; prior to that time he had never seen the insects. A year 

 or two afterward they were first noticed, but in small numbers, and 



