THE ROSE APHIS. 



11 



The adults of all these species seemed to have similar habits. 

 They flew swiftly from twig to twig and hovered over them in the 

 bright sunlight, the wings moving with extreme rapidity, always with 

 a distinct humming 



sound. From time * ~\ ,2j||^ (j ijls /) 



to time they alight- 

 ed on the twigs or 

 leaves and searched 

 here and there for 

 colonies of the 

 aphis. The abdo- 

 men was generally 

 kept in throbbing 

 motion, and when 

 an egg was to be 

 laid a long slender 

 ovipositor was fig. 3 

 thrust out and the 

 egg was placed on 

 a leaf or twig in the midst of or near the colony of the host insect. 

 It was noticed that certain bushes shaded from the sun after 1.30 

 p. m. were immediately deserted by these flies until the next day. 



■Syrphus ribesii, an enemy of the rose aphis: a, Fly; 6, lateral view 

 of head; c, larva or active immature form; d, anal spiracles; e, thoracic 

 spiracle of same. All much enlarged. (From Chittenden.) 



Fig. A.—Eupeodes volucris, an enemy of the rose aphis: a, Female fly; b, abdomen of male fly; c, hypopy- 

 gium of male fly. Much enlarged. (From Webster and Phillips.) 



The rearing of five different species of syrphus flies from larvae 

 found feeding on the rose aphis rather surprised the writer, and he 

 regrets that lack of time has prevented a continuation of the work 



