SUBJUGATING THE APPLE MAGGOT. 



325 



prevents the growth of fungi but causes the 

 fruit to shrivel ; a moist atmosphere on the 

 other hand preserves the plumpness of the 

 fruit but encourages the development of 

 parasitic plants. Extremes should be 

 avoided. 



The principal thoughts for the fruit grower 



to keep in mind in handling his fruit are that 

 it is a perishable article, that its keeping 

 season may be lengthened by careful hand- 

 ling and by low even temperature, and that 

 profits may be increased by placing it on the 

 market in an attractive form. — John Craig 

 in Cornell Reading- Course. 



SUBJUGATING THE APPLE MAGGOT. 



'HE parent of this little maggot some- 

 what resembles the common housefly 

 in form, but the abdomen is more 

 pointed, and it is only one-fifth of an inch in 

 length, with a wing expansion of 3/8 inch. 

 The wings are glossy white and prettily 

 marked with four blackish bands, which have 

 a fancied resemblance to the letters IF, and 

 the first four segments of the abdomen are 

 broadly banded with white. 



These flies appear about July i in Maine, 

 and correspondingly earlier further south. 



Fig. 2125. Apple Maggot. 



and continue to emerge all summer, being 

 found flying until late in September or until 

 the early frosts check them. The females at 

 once commence depositing eggs, which are 

 placed vertically in the pulp, mostly upon the 

 cheeks of the apple, especially on the shaded 

 side. It takes the fly about half a minute to 

 deposit an Q^g, and each one is capable of 

 laying from 300 to 400, 12 or 15 often being 

 placed in a single apple. In four or five 

 pays the minute larvae emerge from the eggs 



and at once commence to tunnel in the pulp. 

 By means of a vertical motion of the hetid 

 they rasp the pulp with the small black 

 hooks or mouth parts, and in less than a 

 minute can tunnel their own length. The 

 maggots become full grown in five or six 



Fk;. 2126. Apple Maggot. 



weeks and then usually go into the soil to 

 the depth of an inch or so, where they 

 pupate. The pupae remain dormant over 

 winter and the flies emerge from them the 

 following summer. 



The apple maggot seems to have a decided 

 preference for early apples and those which 

 are sweet or sub-acid. Orchards on sandy 

 soil and in sheltered places with a southern 

 exposure seem to be worst affected, this 

 doubtless being due to the favorable con- 

 ditions furnished for the development of the 

 pupae. 



Owing to the nature of the injury, spray- 

 ing with poisons is absolutely valueless for 

 this pest. However, much may be done to 

 prevent future injury, as the adult flies are 

 sluggish and usually remain in the orchard 

 where they developed, so that if an orchard 

 is cleaned of them a fruit grower need have 

 no apprehension of a serious invasion from 

 neighboring orchards for some time. Cult- 

 ivation furnishes favorable conditions for the 

 pupae, but as they never go to over an inch 



