82 



transformations and escaped, leaving behind them nothing but their 

 cast-off skins to indicate their former presence. With these were several 

 Chalcis flies belonging to the genus Apostrocetrus, which had evidently 

 preyed upon the Cecidomyians. 



No complaint of these insects again reached this office until nearly 

 three years later. On September 26, 1898, a second sending of infested 

 sorghum seed was received from E. H. Price, of College Station, Tex. 

 This contained quite a large number of the adult flies in addition to 

 the empty pupa cases out of which they had issued. In several instances 

 these empty cases were projecting out of the tops of the seed-husks, 

 the larvae having evidently lived in these husks next to the seeds, which 

 they had caused to shrivel up by depriving them of their juices. A 

 large number of the seeds had thus been destroyed by these pests. 



An extensive examination of the literature bearing on this subject 



has failed to reveal a single reference to a Cecidomyian that attacks 



the seeds of sorghum or of any closely related plant in any part of the 



world. There is every reason, therefore, for believing that this pest is 



as yet un described, and a detailed description of the adults is given 



herewith: 



Diplosis sorghicola new species. — Antenna; of the male as long as, of the female 

 almost one-half as long as, the body, in both sexes composed of fourteen j oints ; joints 

 three to fourteen in the female each slightly constricted in the middle, each except 

 the last one greatly constricted at the apex into a short petiole, a few bristly hairs 

 not arranged in whorls scattered over each* joint; in the male, joints three to four- 

 teen are each greatly constricted, slightly before the middle, and again at the apex, 

 except in the case of the last joint, the constricted portions are as long as the thick- 

 ening at the base of each joint; each of the thickened portions bears a whorl of 

 bristly hairs. In the living insect the head, including the palpi, is yellow, an ten me 

 and legs brown, thorax orange red, the center of the mesonotum and a spot crossing 

 the pleura and enlarging on the sternum black, abdomen orange red, wings grayish 

 hyaline. The lirst vein reaches the costa noticeably before the middle of the wing; 

 third vein nearly straight, ending slightly below the extreme tip of the wing, the 

 basal portion of this vein, where it joins the first vein, distinct; fifth vein forked 

 slightly before the middle of the wing, its anterior fork ending nearly midway 

 between the tip of the posterior fork and the apex of the third vein. Length nearly 

 2 mm. 



Owing to the fact that this insect passes through all of its stages 

 within the seed-husks, there is no chance of destroying it by the use 

 of any known insecticide such as could be used against it with reason- 

 able expense and labor. 



A LEAF-TYER OF GRAPE AND ELDERBERRY. 



By F. H. Chittenden. 



Iii the summer of 1897, during the first weeks of July, the larvae of a 

 pyralid moth were observed by the writer at Colonial Beach, Ya., on 

 the foliage of cultivated grapevine, occurring in considerable numbers 

 in leaves which they fold together near the middle and join with r.heir 

 rather scanty web. The moth was reared and proved to be Phlycttvnia 

 tertialis Gn. The short study that was given to this species at the 

 time was incited from its occurrence on grape. Subsequently the 

 larva was found at the same place and in greater abundance upon a 



