21 
On the 4th of July, however, adults, (now certainly of the second 
brood) were secured at Du Quoin, in sweeping stubble of wheat which 
had been previously infested by the larve. From this time forward, 
although continuous collecting was in progress, and fields of stubble, 
strawberry fields, meadows, and other favorable situations were re- 
peatedly swept, Meromyza does not occur in our collections until 
the 7th of September, at which time it was found in abundance in 
stubble fields near Centralia. Winged individuals of this brood were 
collected by Dr. Fitch, in “‘the latter part .of June;” and by 
Prof. Riley during the first week in July; and some of Mr. Lint- 
ner’s specimens emerged as late as August 1. 
On this point, Lintner remarks: ‘Although Dr. Fitch mentions 
the occurrence of this fly in wheat fields during the latter part of 
June, it appears that the first week in August is within its period 
of apparition in the State of New York, and, as indicated by the 
larve still unchanged at that time, the flies will continue to emerge 
throughout the month of August, and perhaps: into September.” 
Egg.—Some of the adults obtained May 23d, from wheat fields 
near Decatur, were placed together in a bottle, and there they copu- 
lated, and afterwards laid eggs. May 24, a number of adults, male 
and female, were confined in a breeding cage at the Laboratory with 
stools of growing wheat, and on the 80th May it was noticed that 
several eggs had been deposited on the stems. Some of these were 
pushed down beneath the ensheathing bases of the leaves, about 
an inch above the surface of the soil, while others were cemented 
to the stem just at the margin of the sheath. One was found at- 
tached to a piece of dried vegetation, and another upon the stem 
of a growing weed in the breeding cage. These eggs were deposited 
singly, and placed lengthwise with the stem. June 26, at Warsaw, 
a few of the eggs were found attached to the stalks, not yet hatched. 
These were usually placed along the edge of the sheathing base of 
the leaf, above the upper joint, sometimes being thrust a little way 
under the edge; and once an egg was found entirely within the 
sheath, about an inch from the upper end. ; 
Recapitulation of Life History. 
From the above, we can infer with certainty the existence of two 
broods of this insect, the larve one appearing in autumn and of the 
other in summer. It must be admitted, also, that we have not ex- 
cluded the bare possibility of a third brood, at least under favorable 
circumstances, which may develop in August and September in volun- 
teer wheat and rye, or possibly in grass, or some other plant. There is 
only the fact that we were unable to find the adult fly or, indeed, 
the insect in any stage, anywhere in situations supposed most favor- 
able to it, in either July or August, to suggest the possibility of a 
third brood in this latitude. 
Assuming that there is no such brood, we find the life history to 
be about as follows: The eggs from the autumnal brood of the 
flies are doubtless laid as soon as the wheat is ready for them, a 
conclusion supported by the fact that the adults have already been 
abroad many weeks—ever since the preceding harvest, and also by 
