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ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS [Oct., 'l8 



Larz'a, last stage.— Length 4 mm.; dorsally flattened; brownish- 

 white, unpolished, the texture roughened with fine sparse hairs which 

 are short and microscopic except on the larger pointed processes ; on 

 each side the segments bear fleshy pointed processes, progressively 

 larger posteriorly ; dorsal area above these processes bears four evenly- 

 spaced rows of lower smaller protuberances; the ventral surface bears 

 six rows, still smaller, those of the outer row on each side papillate, 

 of the inner rows low and inconspicuous ; the posterior spiracles are 

 in contact medially, ferruginous, in shape resembling short stout 

 flasks, somewhat flattened; the head segment at its base on each side 

 bears a single protuberance which consists of a stout bristly basal 

 portion surmounted by a smoothly-rounded knob; the antennae (?) are 

 minute, fleshy, apparently 2- jointed, and without setae; the head con- 

 tains two chitinized parts or organs, the largest of which, a thin flat 

 plate, brown in color, its margin rounded and entire and with two 

 minute perforations near its anterior edge, is of almost equal area to 

 the entire segment; beneath this is the cephalopharyngeal skeleton, 

 which has one great hook with a low tooth on its under surface, and 

 two prominent backward-pointing barbs above ; when the skeleton is 

 mounted on a slide, the slight pressure of the cover-glass causes these 

 barbs and a pointed attachment in front of them to separate from the 

 hook, and they are probably segmented to it ; on the ventral surface of 

 the succeeding segment is an 8-toothed labial (?) plate; this, with 

 the cephalopharyngeal skeleton, seems to constitute the only chitinized 

 mouth-parts. The larvae are usually so smeared and discolored with 

 their moist and putrid food, which clogs and clings to their roughened 

 surface, that their real structure is hidden ; about sixteen days are spent 

 in the larval stages. 



Puparium. — Not greatly different in size and shape from the larva ; 

 in color, dull mahogany brown ; the pointed processes of the larva, 

 except the lateral row. almost obsolete ; on the third day after the 

 hardening of the larval skin and its change of color, two remarkable 

 flat wand-like structures, their edges fringed with rigid cleft filaments, 

 are pushed upward from the dorsal surface of the fourth segment, 

 their points divergent, and become fixed in this position ; the larva 

 seems to possess no such extrusible organs, though two darkened areas 

 on the second segment may indicate their location ; these wand-like 

 appendages of the puparium, whatever their office, apparently corre- 

 spond to the thorn-like processes possessed by the pnparia of some 

 other species of the Phoridae. About sixteen days are passed in the 

 pupal stage (at approximately 70 deg. Fahr.), though at summer 

 temperature the transformations probably occupy less time than is 

 indicated by these records from breedings indoors and under unnatural 

 conditions. 



Imago $ . — Length 2-3 mm. Head black, almost opaque ; front 



