GARDEN INSECTS 



203 



indicates their appearance. They are a trifle smaller 

 than an ordinary house fly and may be recognized by a 

 dark figure on the wing, shaped somewhat like a turkey, 

 and also by the white lines across the back of the abdo- 

 men, three in the male and four in the female. No insect 

 is better adapted to demonstrate to the children the work 

 that so insignificant a creature is able to accomplish. The 

 fly has been seen to puncture the skin of the growing 

 apple, generally on the shaded side, and deposit a single 



Fig. 83. Apple Maggot 



a, egg ; ^, larva ; i:, pupa ; d, adult female. (All enlarged.) 



(After Harvey and Comstock) 



egg directly in the pulp. Thus a single female may ruin 

 one or two bushels of fruit. They may be found in the 

 apple trees from June or July, according to latitude, until 

 hard frosts occur in the fall, and they attack practically 

 all varieties of apple. Nothing is known regarding the 

 natural enemies of the apple maggot, and its life story 

 renders it one of the most difficult of all insects to con- 

 trol. Possibly a pair of phoebes, or other flycatchers, or 

 a few tree frogs in an orchard might save hundreds of 



