11 



" Injurious Insects New and Little Known," states on the authority of Mr. J. L. Russell, of 

 Salem, Mass., that this beetle eats the leaves as well as the buds and flowers. He says : It 

 eats long strips in the leaves but does the most injury to the fruit buds." For several years 

 pafit we have observed now and then a considerable number of the flower buds of our black- 

 berries and raspberries eaten into and injured or destroyed. On examining the buds a hole 

 would be found on one side of each, through which the enemy had entered and eaten away 

 partially or wholly the stamens as well as the spongy receptacle on which they are borne. 

 Where the damage was only partial the flower usually expanded, but appeared very imper- 

 fect ; but where the destruction of the sexual organs was complete, as was often the case, 

 the buds frequently withered without expanding. We did not succeed in ascertaining the 

 cause of this damage until the summer of 1872, when we secured several of these beetles; 

 they were taken in the act of injuring the flowers in the manner already described, and we 

 have met with them again during the past season in greater numbers. They attack the ex- 

 panded flowers as well as the unexpanded ones, partially hiding themselves about the base of 

 the numerous stamens they are consuming. Dr. Packard speaks of their occurring about 

 the 18th of June, but we have found them much earlier than this, as early as the 27th of 

 May. On this date during the past summer we found one of these marauders about nine 

 o'clock in the morning eating a hole into a flower bud of a Black-cap raspberry, none of the 

 flowers of which were open. It had eaten a hole in the side near the base just large enough 

 to admit its body, and here it was consuming the internal organs of the flower. We found 

 additional specimens occasionally from this date up to the middle of June ; we have seldom 

 seen them about during the middle portions of the day, but chiefly during the earlier hours 

 of the morning and evening. 



When the flowers are thus damaged, the fruit, if it forms at all, is always very imper- 

 fect, and should this insect become as plentiful as many others, it would doubtless prove a 

 great hindrance to the successful culture of the raspberry Fortunately it has never yet 

 shown itself in any great abundance ; long may its ranks continue thin ; should it in any case 

 become inconveniently numerous it might be destroyed by hand-picking. 



AFFECTING THE LEAVES. 

 6. The Raspberry Saw-fly (Selandria rubi, Harris). 



Although this insect is quite generally distributed, and at times is very destructive to 

 the foliage of the raspberry, it has, strange to say, been but little noticed by Entomologists 

 in their publications. There is a short reference to it in " Harris' Entomological Corres- 

 pondence," in a letter from Darling to Harris, written in 18-16, where a very correct account 

 is given of the manner in which the egg is deposited. There is also a much briefer para- 

 graph in " Packard s Guide," and these are all the references we have been able to find. 



The perfect insect, which is a four winged fly belonging to the order Hymenoptera, ap- 

 pears on the wing about the middle of May. We noticed them during the past summer first 

 on the 10th ; in the summer of 1872 they were not observed until the 21st; usually they 

 may be found from about the middle of >>ay until early in June. The wings, which are 

 transparent with a shining surface and metallic hue, measure when expanded about half an 

 inch across , the veins are black, and there is also a streak of black along the front margin 

 extending more than half way towards the tip of the wing. The anterior part of the body is 

 black, the abdomen dark reddish. In common with some other species of Selandria, these 

 flies have a habit of falling to the ground when disturbed, especially in the cool of the morn- 

 ing, and remaining inactive long enough to enable one to catch them ; but with the increasing 

 heat of the day they are much more lively, and take wing readily when approached. 



The egg, as it appears when squeezed from the body of the female, is about one-thirtieth 

 of an inch long, and a little over one-hundreth of an inch wide at its widest portion. In form 

 it approaches a long oval rather obtuse at the ends, with its greatest diameter a little before 

 the middle. Colour white, with a faint yellow tinge and a smooth, glossy surface, semi- 

 transparent. The enveloping membrane is very thin and easily ruptured, discharging watery- 

 looking contents. Only seven or eight eggs were obtained from the body of the female ex- 

 amined ; possibly it might have previously deposited most of its stock. The eggs are buried 

 beneath the skin of the leaf, close alongside of the ribs and veins, placed there by means of 



