46 



became a pupa, having first attached itself to the sides of the cell by a few short silky 

 threads. It had now contracted in length, become nearly oval, and assumed a yellowish 

 tint, with a few short, loose, silky threads adhering to different parts of the surface. On 

 the 11th of February we examined some more seeds,, and found the larvse within still 

 alive and active, just as they had appeared in the fall. On the 7fch of July further speci- 

 mens were opened, and the inmates still found soft but motionless ; these appeared to be 

 in the pupa state, but the slight inspection then given was not sufficient to enable us to 

 be positive. During the remaining part of July we looked many times into the bottles 

 in which the grapes were enclosed, but did not discover anything till on the 9th of 

 August, feeling sure that the time for the appearance of the insects must be fully come,, 

 if not already past, we resolved on a thorough search for them. As soon as the contents 

 of the bottles had been emptied on a piece of white paper, we observed a number of smjf!l 

 four- winged flies, from one-fifteenth to one-tenth of an inch long, among the dried-up 

 grapes. These were all dead and stiff, though some were more brittle than others. From 

 the observations made we should judge that they effected their escape from the middle to 

 the end of July. 



The following description of the insect, being somewhat technical, is given more for 

 the benefit of the scientific reader than for the general public. We thus give due notice 

 so that all who have do taste for scientific descriptions may make a clean jump over the- 

 next two paragraphs. 



Isosoma vitis — Saunders — Female. — Head large, flattened in front, black, thickly 

 punctured, and covered with many short whitish hairs j mandibles pale brown at base,, 

 tipped with black. Antennae (scape and eight joints) nine jointed, black, thickly covered 

 with whitish hairs, inserted in deep sockets ; the scape pale brown, slender, nearly as long 

 as the three following joints together ; the second short ; third to eighth inclusive, nearly 

 equal in length • the terminal joint longer, tapering slightly towards the tip. Thorax 

 black, punctured, and covered with whitish hairs. Legs — front pair pale brown, troch- 

 anters nearly black ; second and third pairs, trochanters black, femora and tibia nearly 

 black along the middle, pale brown at tips, tarsi pale brown. Abdomen long, black,, 

 straight and smooth, with a polished surface placed on a short pedicel ; a little contracted 

 at base, thickest on third joint, tapering gradually to fifth, and then suddenly to extrem- 

 ity ; the basal joint very short, second and third each somewhat longer, fourth as long as- 

 the three preceding, fifth less than half as long as the fourth, sixth a little shorter, ter- 

 minal joint rather longer. ♦ 



The male differs from the female in having the antennas longer and moi'e thickly 

 covered with hairs. The abdomen is short, thick and blunt, and placed on a moderately 

 stout pedicel, nearly its own length. The abdominal rings have about the same relative- 

 size as in the female, but the posterior edge of the third overhangs the fourth, the latter- 

 appearing as if partially drawn within the projecting edge of the third ring. 



Length — Female 0.10, male 0.06 inch. 



Having kept the grapes in bottles only occasionally opened for ventilation, in a dry 

 room, they became hard, dry and shrivelled. In consequence of this many of the flies 

 were unable to make their way out, the seed having become too hard for their jaws to eat 

 through. On opening some of these the flies were found dead, with wings fully developed, 

 and surrounded by small iragments of the interior coating of the seed, which they had 

 gnawed off in their efforts to escape. Those which had found their way out had eaten a 

 small, nearly round, irregular hole through seed and skin. In many similar cases, where 

 the larvte feed within a hard substance, they provide for the escape of the perfect insect by 

 eating away the hard enclosure until it is reduced so thin as to appear almost transparent, 

 when a very little effort is sufficient to remove the obstruction to the outward passage of 

 the perfect insects. In this instance we have been unable to discover any evidence of such 

 preparation, and believe that the whole work of escape is accomplished by the perfect fly. 



Should it prove sufficiently troublesome to necessitate man's agency to keep it within 

 proper bounds, we can advise nothing better as a remedy than carefully gathering and 

 destroying the shrivelled fruit. 



