REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST I918 



157 



The peculiar, whitish masses of pitch (fig. 29) caused by this 

 species are easily recognized. They may hang from the underside 

 of the limbs and occasionally occur in considerable numbers on the 

 trimk of pitch pine. There is frequently a dripping of the pitch in 

 warm weather. 



Observations by Miss Eckel show that the bright orange larvae 

 are arranged radially about the equator of a spherical pitch drop. 

 The eggs are deposited only on fresh pitch 

 and never on twigs or leaves, the insect 

 apparently taking advantage of fresh ex- 

 udations and, as a rule, finding them in 

 abundance. The young larvae grow rapidly 

 and in the early stages have hooklike spines 

 on the ventral surface of each segment. 

 These disappear and the entire skin is cov- 

 ered with fine, backward curving spines. 

 We reared adults the latter part of June and 

 in early October from material which was 

 supposed to represent only the work of 

 the pine twig moth, Evetria com- 

 stockiana Fern. The normal pitch 

 mass inhabited by this midge may contain 

 from two to thirty larvae which, when full 

 grown, are about 6 mm in length. The 

 pupa works its way partly out of the pitch 

 mass before the appearance of the midge. 



Male. Length 2 mm. Antennae about as 

 long as the body, thickly haired, dark brown; 

 fourteen segments, the fifth with stems 

 each one-half longer than the diameter; terminal segment, distal 

 enlargement prolonged, apically a slender, fingerlike appendage. 

 Palpi; the first segment short, stout, slightly swollen distally, the 

 second nearly three times the length of the first, subrectangular, the 

 third a little shorter and more slender than the second, the foiuth 

 a little longer and more slender than the third; face light brown. 

 Mesonotiim light brown, the submedian lines lighter and thickly 

 clothed with yellowish setae; posterior median area yellowish; 

 scutellum yellowish brown with sparse apical setae, postscutellum 

 yellowish. Abdomen rather thickly clothed with fine setae, light 

 yellowish brown, darker basally, genitalia yellowish. Wings hyaline, 

 costa light brown; halteres yellowish basally, slightly fuscous apically. 

 Legs a nearly uniform light brown, the pulvilli longer than the 

 claws, the latter long, slender, strongly curved apically. Genitalia; 

 dorsal plate short, broad, deeply and triangularly incised, the lobes 



Fig. 29 Retinodiplosis 



resinicola, twig showing 

 typical pitch exudations 

 inhabited by larvae 



