Vol. XXX] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS 2/ 



Eumerus strigatus Fall., the Lunate Onion Fly, in New Jersey 



(Dip.). 



On February 6, 1918, an adult of this European species, kindly iden- 

 tified by Dr. Bequaert, was taken in a greenhouse at Rutherford, New 

 Jersey. This is the first definite record of its occurrence in New Jer- 

 sey, but its presence was suspected several years ago in connection 

 with iris roots injured by Macronoctua onusta Grote (Psyche, June, 

 1915, p. 106). Felt (27th Rept. State Ent., N. Y., p. 119) records it 

 from Saratoga Springs, New York, and states that Dr. Chittenden in- 

 formed him that it had been bred from bulbs received from Connecti- 

 cut and Texas. Its presence in New Jersey at Rutherford is not sur- 

 prising in view of the fact that huge quantities of Holland bulbs are 

 consigned to this locality every year. In "Ziekten en Beschadigingen 

 der Tuinbouwgewassen," by Van Den Broek en Schenk, it is listed as 

 a pest of narcissus in Holland and it is stated that it and Merodon 

 equestris constitute the most important insect enemies of that plant. 



According to the Dutch authors, the flies appear in Aiay and June 

 and the eggs are evidently laid on the bases of the leaves. The larvae 

 enter the nose of the bulb, from 10 to 30 being found in a single one. 

 When full grown they are from 7 to 9 mm. in length. The maggots 

 feed in the interior, which soon becomes slimy and decayed and the 

 destruction appears to be more complete and rapid than that caused 

 by Merodon equestris larvae with which tbey are sometimes associated 

 in the same bulb. The puparia are usually foimd in the outside layers, 

 or at the nose of the bulb, during August and it appears that a second 

 brood of flies, of which little is known, appears in September and Octo- 

 ber. On bright, sunny days the adults can be seen flying low over the 

 narcissus plants. It is also recorded as attacking hyacinths and onions. 

 In Holland the destruction of infested bulbs appears to be the common 

 method of control. 



Verrall (British Flies, 8, 615, 1901) states that it is recorded from 

 all North and Middle Europe and Italy, and Walker (1851, Insecta 

 Britannica, Diptera, I, 241-42) records it as being generally distributed 

 in Great Britain and states that the larvae of the genus feed on bulbous 

 roots. Considering the fact that it was first noted in the United States 

 in 1906 (Chittenden), it is strange that more records of it have not 

 turned up. On account of its reputation as an onion pest in Europe 

 its presence in this country should be of interest, especially in such 

 states as Ohio, New York, Texas, California, Indiana, Illinois, Louisi- 

 ana, Massachusetts, Kentucky and New Jersey, which are the ten main 

 onion States in the order of their importance. — H. B. Weiss and A. S. 

 NicoLAY, New Brunswick, New Jersey. 



A Remarkable Case of Longevity in Insects (Hem., Hom.) 



The genus Mar gar odes (Hemiptera, Coccidae) contains certain 

 curious species in which the first stage larva possesses legs and 

 antennae, these appendages being lost in the intermediate stages and 

 reappearing in the adult. All of the described species are subterranean 

 in habitat and in all the appendageless, intermediate stages are enclosed 

 within a tough, hard cyst formed from the secretions of certain 

 dermal glands of the insect. The details of the life histories of most 

 of the species are unknown but one species, M. vitiiim Giard, has 

 received a considerable amount of attention. 



