30 N. S. ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



Fig. 10. Tegmina. 



a. Intercalary vein 



b. Scapular area. 



Fig. 11. Male appendages, lateral aspect. 



a. Cerci c. Apical margin. 



b. Subgenital plate. 



NOTES ON THE APPLE SEED CHALCIS. 



By W. H. Brittain. 

 (Syntomaspis druparum Boheman) 



THIS is an example of the insect that cannot be controlled by spraying. For- 

 tunately it causes serious damage only locally and may never prove to be a 

 widespread or serious pest. Specimens of the insect were taken during the 

 past summer by Mr. J. P. Spittall, at various localities in Kings Co., and quite 

 possibly the pest is more widely distributed than is at present known. In some cases 

 quite a large proportion of the fruit showed signs of the insect's work. Natural fruit, 

 crab apples and several standard varieties of apples are attacked, and the same, or a re- 

 lated species, infests the fruit of the hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) Of all varieties of ap- 

 ple the yellow Bellflower (Bishop Pippin) seems most susceptible. Cases were found at 

 Gaspereaux where from 70 to 90 per cent of the fruit of this variety was infested. 



LIFE HISTORY AND HABITS. 



The winter is passed as a small, white, grub-like larva about one-eighth of an inch 

 long within the seed of the apple. Early the next summer the larva transforms to a 

 pupa, from which finally emerges the adult. The mature insect is a small, four-winged, 

 dark-colored fly, the head thorax and abdomen being green in color. The female is pro- 

 vided with a long ovipositor, by means of which she pierces through the pulp of the 

 apple and deposits her egg directly within the seed. In light skinned fruits the puncture 

 made by the ovipositor is visible on the surface and, on cutting open the fruit, a brown 

 streak will usually be seen extending into the core. In the mature seed there is no vis- 

 ible puncture in the seed coat, nor any mark to indicate how the larva reached the in- 

 terior of the seed. The uninjured inner seed coat forms a protective cell, within which 

 the larva remains. 



INJURIES. 



As apple seeds have no commercial value in Nova Scotia the injury done to them is 

 of little importance. The puncture made by the female's ovipositor appears as a small 



