312 ATHALIA SPINAEUM. 



some cases, with benefit, especially if before they are 

 applied the turnips be dragged over by a rope so that 

 the larvae may fall to the earth. It has also been 

 found very beneficial to turn a flock of ducks into the 

 fields; these birds eat the larvae readily and have in some 

 cases saved the crops ; but, on the other hand, feeding 

 on the larvae tends to injure the ducks, as they suffer 

 much from diarrhoea and become very emaciated. It 

 has been suggested by Newport that if when the flies 

 have appeared and are about to lay their eggs, the 

 turnips be well watered daily or twice daily with sea 

 water, or with water mixed with salt, this will tend 

 to destroy the eggs. 



The larvae are preyed upon by a thread-worm, 

 Mermis albicans, a Dipteron, Meigenia bisignata, and by 

 the Hymenoptera, Bassus atkaliaeperda, Curtis, Try- 

 phon succinctus, Grr. ; Tryphon marginellus, GT. ; Peri- 

 lissus lutescens, Holmg. (teste Brischke) ; Mesoleius 

 armillatorius, Gr. ; M. ciliatus, Holmg. ; Tryphon 

 brachy acanthus, Gr. (Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr., 1878) ; 

 Perilampus splendidus, P. violaceus. 



The species appears to be generally distributed over 

 England, being, however, apparently rare in the north. 

 It does not seem to have been very injurious of late 

 years, a fact no doubt owing to the system of rotation 

 of crops. In Scotland it has not, so far as I can learn, 

 been ever very injurious. Mr. James Hardy tells us 

 that a black Athalia larva was once rather destructive 

 in Berwickshire, but it was got rid of by an application 

 of quick lime. It is more than possible that damage 

 attributed to Spinarum may in reality have been caused 

 by the very similar larva of A. glabricollis. 



Spinarum is found all over the Palaearctic region, 

 extending eastward into Japan. The Japanese speci- 

 mens have the black on the thorax broadly divided in 

 the middle. In India a form occurs differing from the 

 European variety in having the costa at the base, the 

 basal joints of the antennae and the epistoma luteous ; 

 the thorax is black only behind the scutellum ; there is 



