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York (1882), and the latter, an illustrated article in the Report of 

 the Entomologist of the United States Department of Agriculture 

 for the same year. By Lintner the species was treated chiefly on 

 account of its injuries to preserved fruits, and was by him given 

 the name of the pickled-fruit fly. Prof. Comstock describes and 

 illustrates the species fully, less with reference to its own injuries 

 than for the purpose of enabling the fruit grower to distinguish it 

 clearly from the apple maggot— -a very much more destructive insect. 



The fly is of wide distribution, occurring throughout Middle and 

 Southern Europe and Southern Africa, as well as over Eastern 

 North America. It is, in August, September, and October, one of 

 the most numerous of species, wherever an abundant fruit supply 

 is accessible, as it multiplies rapidly by many successive generations. 

 By Prof. Comstock, each of the three preliminary stages — egg, 

 larva, and pupa — is reported to continue from three to five days, 

 and in some cases the fly begins to deposit its eggs when not more 

 than two days old, the entire generation thus completing its cycle 

 within less than a fortnight. 



By both Lintner and Comstock the fact of its injury to grapes is 

 mentioned upon the authority of correspondents, the first remarking 

 in a foot note, that examples of the fly had been received by him 

 from the Piev. Samuel Lockwood, of Freehold, New Jersey, with the 

 statement that the larvse had infested his ripe grapes during the 

 autumn of 1881. Prof. Comstock's information of this habit was 

 obtained from a correspondent in New York, who reported the larvse 

 to eat out completely the inside of the grapes "which while hanging 

 on the vines, have first been picked open by birds. The decaying 

 juices running out on the other berries of the cluster, spread decay 

 and thus give more foothold for the larvae. Indeed, the larvae bore 

 from one grape to another, while the images are constantly, by eggs, 

 putting in new colonies until the cluster is nearly or quite destroyed, 

 nothing remaining but the empty grape skins." 



By Prof. Lintner, the same species was bred from jars of pickled 

 plums to which the adults had doubtless got access while depositing 

 their eggs. 



No natural enemies of this species are thus far known, and it is 

 not easy to suggest feasible remedies for its injuries in the vine- 

 yards. Unquestionably the practice of enclosing the clusters in 

 paper bags, as is customary for protecting grapes from rot and 

 birds, would be effective against these insects also ; and it will 

 doubtless be decidedly to the interest of the vine grower to prevent 

 the accumulation of decaymg and fermenting fruit about his prem- 

 ises where the larvae may breed. 



Thf Grape Leap Mite. 



(Phytoptus vitis, Lanclois.) 



Order Acarina. Family Phytoptid^. 



Tlie occurrence in the vineyards of Europe of a microscopic leaf 

 mite, first described by Landois under the above name, has been 

 known for a number of years, the injury resulting being conspicuous 



