THE TWO-WINGED FLIES 



125 



buds and hatch into larvae that attack the seed cavities of 

 the young pears, sometimes doing serioys damage. When 

 fully developed in the larval state, they drop to the ground 

 where they change to pupae, and emerge soon after as 

 adult flies. Plowing during the latter part of June and fer- 

 tilizing with . a heavy dressing of 

 some potash fertilizer is helpful in 

 destroying the larvae and pupae. 



APPLE 

 MAGGOT 



MAGNIFIED 



Crane Flies 



The; Crane Flies (Tipulidae) are • 

 among the largest of the Two-winged 

 Flies. These insects look like gi- 

 gantic mosquitoes and may he seen 

 throughout the summer in pastures 

 and meadows, as well asabput houses. 

 In their larval stages some of the 

 commoner Crane Flies feed upon 

 decaying vegetation and occasionally upon grass roots, 

 although they are very seldom destructive in America. 

 These flies show very well the peculiar balancers that rep- 

 resent the second pair of wings, 



Fruit Maggots 



Comparatively few Two-winged Flies are injurious to 

 fruit crops. One of the most destructive of these is the 

 Apple Maggot or Railroad Worm, a pest that is often very 

 troublesome in orchards. The adult fly deposits eggs be- 

 neath the skins of young apples during the summer. Each 

 of these eggs soon hatches into a small footless maggot 

 that tunnels through the fruit in all directions. It continues 

 the work for five or six weeks, by which time the apple is 

 pretty well "railroaded " and ruined for cooking or eating 



