tjooseherty Gruh, 24 S 



I cannot but regret, that, in Mr. Rennie*s useful paper, 

 tliere is no figure of P. Napae'ae; which ought on no account 

 to have been omitted, if a specimen could have been procured 

 for the purpose. Perhaps he will favour us with one on some 

 future occasion. — W. T. B. 



Art. IX. On the Gooseberry Grub, By E. S. 

 Sir, 

 As the season is at hand when the gooseberry leaves begin 

 to shoot, a few remarks on what is commonly called the grub^ 

 which commits sad ravages on the foliage of these shoots, may 

 not be unacceptable. Early in March, if the weather is. 

 favourable, the first flies issue from their chrysalis, a few 

 inches below the soil, at the foot of the trees ; and, by a sharp- 

 sighted observer, may be seen about nine or ten o'clock ia 

 the morning, should the sun be shining, hovering over the 

 gooseberry trees ; and, every now and then, settling on a leaf, 

 vibrating their antennae in bustling action, searching for a 

 suitable leaf whereupon to deposit their eggs : and every fly 

 destroyed at this period is, therefore, the ultimate destruction 

 of some thousands of voracious successors. If carefully 

 watched, after having made choice of a leaf, it will be ob- 

 served retiring to the under side ; where, in course of time, it 

 deposits, along the stronger fibres or veins of the leaf, a 

 Series of eggs, which appear like small pellucid oblong strings 

 of delicate beads, following the lines of the foliatory nerves. 

 The following observations on the times of hatching, &c., may 

 be relied upon as accurate : — On the 9th of April the eggs 

 were laid ; on the 1 9th they were hatched ; and if the tem- 

 perature is mild, they increase rapidly to maturity : and from 

 their numbers (for a single fly will fill up the veins of many 

 leaves), the foliage of the devoted tree is soon destroyed. 

 They usually continue in the larva state about ten days ; when, 

 dropping to the earth, they penetrate below the surface, and 

 change into a small brown chrysalis ; in which dormant state 

 they remain from fourteen to seventeen days, and then come 

 forth as flies, which, in a day or two, lay their respective quan- 

 tities of eggs ; and, thus, brood after brood is continued inde- 

 finitely ; and I am not aware that any limits of season act as a 

 check, unless attended with decrease of temperature, which, of 

 course, puts a stop to their progress. One mode of guarding 

 against the evil I have already noticed, but the most keen- 

 sighted gardener can never effect the destruction of the ori^ 

 ginal stock of these vernal progenitors. He should, there- 

 fore, from the first moment of seeing the flies hovering about 

 his trees, keep a sharp look out on the leaves, particularly 



