I 



BLUEBERRY INSECTS IN MAINE. 267 



tributed through the state, for the writer has found it wherever 

 he has collected berries at Orono, . Cherryfield, Auburn and 

 Searsport. The writer has bred it from Vaccinium pennsyl- 

 vankum and V. canadense. 



se;asonal history and liee history in the blueberry. 



Apparently the delicate little midge hibernates as an adult, 

 emerging from her winter quarters at least by June. She is 

 unable to puncture the skin of the berry and deposits her eggs in 

 cavities which already exist in the fruit from other sources. 

 Quite frequently she seems to make use of the tgg puncture of a 

 weevil, Pseiidanthonoinus validus Dietz; certainly this would 

 be a natural inference, for one may frequently find cecid larvae 

 in the same fruit as weevil larvae. Usually but 3 or 4 eggs are 

 deposited in a berry, but the writer has found as many as 6 

 larvae in a single one. 



The exact duration of the egg-stage was not determined. 

 Eggs collected on June 18, 19 15, hatched on June 21. Probably 

 not more than 4 or 5 days is required. Recently hatched cecids 

 are quite common after June 20. When the larva leaves the 

 egg it is whitish and nearly transparent; the older larvae are 

 pinkish orange. It is impossible to keep one individual under 

 continuous observation for the larvae are very delicate; they 

 cannot be transferred from one berry to another and dry up 

 if left in an opened berry. 



In an ordinary season most of the larvae are full grown 

 about July 20 and begin to leave the berries to pupate. In a 

 late season, such as 1915, the majority do not leave the frutt 

 until about July 30. However, a few individuals are full fed 

 even as early as the first of July. The dates on which the 

 berries were picked and the dates on which the larvae left the 

 fruit were recorded in 1913 and 1914. In the majority of in- 

 stances the larvae have been ready to leave 8 or 9 days after 

 the collection. From July 12 until August 4, 1914, 23 days, 

 was the extreme length ; and from 15 to 20 days would probably 

 be a fair estimate of the larva life. 



As was stated above, the larvae leave the berries before 

 pupating. The writer does not know where they pupate in 

 nature ; Doctor Felt has suggested that they may seek grass 



