I(i2 



Webster r('|)(>i"ts ;i case of ])()ssil)lc injiiiy to coin \>\ I. lie larva' of 

 Tipiild costdlis* oil ,i;roiiml wliicli liail Ix-cii in clo\'er the year het'ore. 

 All unusual abiiiKlance of meadow iiiai;<i(its lia<l Ix'eii iioliced iii the 

 clover by the owner, and was by him belic\(Ml to be tin; cause of a con- 

 siderable reduction of the cloxcr crop. The tipiilid larvae were also 

 present in considerabh^ nunibers in the clover turf the foUovvinf^ May, 

 when the ground was jjlanted to corn. The cro|) continued thrifty until 

 August, when it ceased to grow, the roots being eaten in a way to suggest 

 that the meadow maggots were res|)oiisil)le. As the adults of this crane- 

 fly appear in Septemlxn*, laying tlunr eggs in fall, the life history of the 

 species is consistent with this interpretation. The immunity of the corn 

 in the early part of the year may have been due to the fact that the 

 del)ris of the clover turf furnished at first a sulHcient food for the larva*. 

 The case is a doubtful one, howcxcr, and mention of the matter is made 

 merely to call attention to the possibility of injury to corn under such 

 conditions. 



TiiK (^()H\-Fi:i;i)!\(; Syrphus-fly. 



MesoijrdNitud pal hum Say. 

 (Mesof/nipld pdlitd.) 



The soft, fleshy maggots (V\ii. \n{),d) of the syrphus- or flower-flies 

 are v(>ry often seen ])reying on plant-louse colonies, and it is an excep- 

 tional fact that the above member of this 

 group feeds, in the larva state, on the pollen 

 and juices of corn. This very common spe- 

 cies is widely distributed, ranging from Con- 

 necticut to Kansas, and south to Georgia, 

 Mississippi, Florida, and Cuba. Its presence 

 on corn has been noticed in Illinois, New 

 Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, Florida, and Mis- 

 souri, sometimes in great abundance. In 

 on(> case "the stalks were literally covered 

 by them," but in no case was there proof 

 that they had done any serious injury. 

 Like other syrphus larvtr, these are broadest posteriorly, tapering 

 forwards to a comparatively small head. They are about a fourth of 

 an inch long, yellowish, and many-ringed. Tlu>y congregate upon the 

 tassel, in llu> bases of the leaf-shea ihs, on {ho husks, and wherever 

 fallen pi)llen has collected. i^xamination of the alimentary canal of 

 specimens collected ])y us show(>d that the\- had (cd upon the pollen 

 grains. 



Ashnu'ad found in I'^lorida that insteail of eating the pollen of corn 



l'"i(i. \r>0. The ('orn-feeiiiiiK 

 Syrpiius-fly, Mcsourainnia po/i- 

 tiitn: a, larva; l>, puparium. Imi- 

 laiKetl us indicated. (Rile.v Juul 

 Howard, U. S. Dept. of Agricul- 

 ture.) 



*Bull. No. 26. U. S. Dept. Agr.. Div. Kiit., p. 74. 



