The Zoologist— January, 1871. 2433 



lusecls of Missouii,' p. 92: — "In my first Report (pp. 125 — 131), 

 I gave an account of a minute maggot which had been found by 

 Mr. W. Saunders, of London, Canada West, to infest the seeds of 

 growing grapes, and to occasion much damage around London and 

 Paris, by causing the berries of the Clinton, Delaware, Rogers' 

 No. 4, and some of Mr. Arnold's seedlings, to shrivel up without 

 maturing. There are so many noxious insects, common in Mis- 

 souri, that occur also in the southern portions of Canada West, 

 that it was deemed necessary to give the grape-growers of the 

 State a diagnosis of its work, in case it should at any day make its 

 appearance in our vineyards." 



In the ' Verhandlungen der Zoologisch-botanischen Gesellschaft 

 in Wien' for 1863, Dr. Giraud mentions that he observed on Triti- 

 cum repens some swellings, which he believed to have been formed 

 by one of the Diptera, and from which he reared four species of 

 Hymenoptera. 



The following extracts are translated from Dr. Giraud's *' Notice 

 sur les deformations galliformes du Triticum repens" (Verh.z.-b. 

 Ges. xiii. 1289):— 



" 111 the month of April I noticed, in the vessel in which I kept 

 some of the galls, two specimens of a species of Diptera which 

 Dr. Schiner recognized as Ochthiphila polystigraa, Meif/en. I sought 

 at once by opening all the galls to discover their origin. I found 

 no traces of a solid pupal covering, but two small white silky sacks, 

 of very loose texture and easily torn, which it seemed to me could 

 only have belonged to the Dipteron, for the parasites had nothing 

 like it. I saw also, in the hollow of a third gall, a small whitish 

 larva, round which were some white silky filaments, like those which 

 formed the two sacks which I have mentioned : it was dead and 

 already somewhat shrivelled, but still recognizable ; it was that of 

 a Dipteron, and to all appearance that of the Ochthiphila. I think 

 it probable that that insect is the real author of the galls, for it is 

 the only one of all the number to which I could assign that part; 

 but I express this opinion with reserve. If it be well founded, it 

 is surprising how enormous the quantity of individuals which fall a 

 prey to their enemies, in comparison with the small number of 

 those which escape. The smallness of the Diptera, in reference to 

 that of its presumed parasites, which are all of larger size, does 

 not in my view negative the part of victim v/hich I assign it, 

 for what I have to add on the mode of life of these parasites 



