52 



INJUKIOUS Il^^SECTS 



and Orange trees in a groye in which the so-called Indian 

 pumpkins had grown. 



As regards remedies, Mr. J. S. Newman, of Atlanta, 

 Ga.j states that the only one known to him is to plant 

 early, the object being to pick the melons before the most 

 destructive brood of the worms has appeared. It would 

 undoubtedly be found profitable to keep a sharp lookout 

 for the first brood of the worms, which will probably be 

 found feeding upon the leaves and stems before the young 

 melons have begun to form. These should be killed by 

 hand. This could be readily done in patches compara- 

 tively small in size, and we think will be found profitable 

 in large gardens. 



Two species of parasitic insects have been reared from 

 the specimens sent to the Department; one is Pimjyla 

 conquisitor, an Ichneumon fly, which has proved very 

 efficacious in the case of the cotton-worm; the other is a 

 Tachina fly. Much is to be expected from the aid of 

 these parasites. 



THE ONION. 



THE BLACK ONION-FLY. 



{Ortalis flexa^ Wied.) 



This insect was first described by Wiedemann in 1830. 

 The fly (fig. 34) is about one-third of an inch in length, 

 black, with three oblique white stripes on each wing. Mr. 

 Henry Shimer, of Mount Carroll, 111., says, In the latter 

 part of June, I first observed the larva or maggot among 

 the onions here. The top dead, the bulb rotten, and the 

 maggots in the decayed substance. From them I bred the 

 fly. They passed about two weeks in the pupa state. At 



