74 Second Report on Economic Zoology. 
Animals injurious to Ornamental Plants. 
Acari attacking Canariensis. 
Some Canariensis, one of the most useful rapid creepers, has been 
observed to be killed by Bryobia mites. They killed the plants in one 
night. Mr. Albert Michael identified them as Bryobia pretiosa. This 
species often does a good deal of harm to fruit trees. It is found on 
ivy, and the attack on the Canariensis was soon traced to the ivy 
close by, which was swarming with them. The mites also swarmed 
on the wall of the house up which the plants were growing. Spraying 
with soft soap and liver of sulphur soon destroyed them. 
Narcissus Bulb Pests. 
Amongst the larvae sent by Mr. T. J. Leney from Chertsey 
damaging narcissus bulbs were not only those of the Narcissus Fly 
( Merodon equestris , Fab.) recorded in the First Eeport (p. 107), but 
many smaller ones which have proved to be those of Eumerus 
striyalus, Fin. The Merodon larvae pupated from November to 
February. The flies commenced to hatch out on April 29th and 
continued until May 15th, when the last appeared. The small 
Eumerus larvae were very numerous, as many as ten occurring in one 
bulb ; they were found both in company with Merodon and separately. 
They evidently were just as much the cause of damage as the larger 
Merodons. These Syrphidte all feed in their larval state in bulbous 
roots, but I am not aware of their having been previously recorded as 
injurious to cultivated bulbs. 
The common species is Eumerus striyatus, Fin. ( lumdatus , Mg.) 
Yerrall records two other species — E. sabulonum , Fin., and E. ornatus, 
Mg. 
Walker mentions two other species as British, namely, E. rufi- 
cornis, Mg., and E. selene, Mg. The former is in the British Museum 
and is not an Eumerus but a Chrysochlamys. The small Narcissus 
Flies hatched out about the same time as the Merodons. The larvae 
mostly feed at the lower part of the bulbs, but bore their way up 
between the scales, and were also found outside the bulbs in the 
earth in which they all apparently pupated. 
The adult Eumerus seem to mimic in habits small aculeate 
Hymenoptera such as Halictus ; the habits of the larvae are similar 
to Merodon. 
