Pear Midge. 



ten to twelve in number. I afterwards found several midges 

 engaged in laying their eggs as late as the i8th of April, 

 from which day they ceased to appear in the garden. I also 

 saw a midge on the side of the blossom with its ovipositor 

 inserted in it, so that they do not merely pierce the petals, 

 but the calyx also." 



The number of eggs, according to Schmidberger, varies 

 from a few to more than twenty. They are hatched in a very 

 short time if the weather is warm. Schmidberger found 

 small larvae on the fourth day after the deposition of the eggs,, 

 which begin to bore into the blossom usually in or near 

 the stem of the calyx. " Before the blossom is expanded 

 they descend to the core, so that they may not be exposed to 

 the sun's rays, which would endanger their existence. They 

 separate at the core and begin to devour it on all sides. 

 When they have consumed the pulp of the small fruit they 

 have attained their full size, and only await for a favourable 

 opportunity to leave their still secure dwelling.'' Sometimes 

 they fall from the pears to the ground ; sometimes they fall 

 with the infested pears, from which they emerge and bury 

 themselves in the earth to a depth not exceeding one inch. 

 The larva is endowed with powers of jumping like other 

 species of Diplosis. It can also crawl well, but it has no 

 legs. It is rather more than a twelfth of an inch long. In 

 colour it is whitish-yellow, becoming rather darker as it gets 

 older. It has what is known as the " anchor process " or 



breast bone," which serves as an adjunct to the mouth in 

 biting pulp and tissues, broadly dilated," as remarked by 

 Professor Riley. This is light-brown in colour, bifurcate 

 in shape, and is easily seen with an inch lens. It is not 

 known when the pupal state is assumed. It has been ascer- 

 tained that the larvae remain for some time in larval condition 

 before commencing their cocoons, and that they remain, 

 according to Riley, in the cocoons for some time before being 

 transformed to pupae. The pupa is about one-tenth of an 

 inch long, black above and yellowish-brown beneath. 

 Methods of Prevention and Remedies, 

 It is absolutely certain that the author of this mischief to 

 the pear crop is lying just under the pear trees from June 



