STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
819 
MIDGE. PARASITES. MISTAKEN PARASITE’S nABIT8. 
wheat field to-day, in which the midge flies are less numerous 
than they have been and the aphis is increasing. One, and some¬ 
times two or three of these parasites were present, on many of 
the ears, particularly those ears on which colonies of the aphis 
had established themselves. They walked about upon the ears 
and down between the chaffs. They are very tame and familiar, 
not at all shy like the midge fly. On taking hold of a wheat ear 
the midge fly will walk away from the spot, whilst this fly will 
walk out upon the hand without an}'- sjmiptom of fear or alarm. 
In two instances I saw it pushing the tip of its body into tho 
small orifice at the apex of the outermost scale of the chaff’s. 
One of these I watched until she had crowded the end of her 
body into this orifice three times, holding it there a few moments 
each time as if feeling around or dropping an egg there. I then 
secured her in a vial, and carefully dissected this floret. With 
the single lens of my pocket magnifier I could not discover any 
eggs on either of the chaffs near this orifice, nor were there any 
eggs or larva) of the midge there or elsewhere upon any of the 
chaff's or the kernel of this floret.. After my return, in a vial into 
which I had emptied some sweepings of the net, I noticed one of 
these parasites clinging upon the back of a plump wingless aphis 
which is three times as largo as the parasite. The aphis walks 
impatiently about, crawling under the rubbish in the vial to 
crowd the intruder off, and mounting up the sides of the vial, 
and tumbling down and rolling over, but still the parasite clings 
to it with an air of non chalance. It occasionally touches the tip 
of its body to the body of the aphis, here and there, but does not 
appear to insert any egg, and if it stings, the aphis is such a 
stolid and phlegmatic creature that it shows no manifestation of 
feeling the puncture. I watch this rider upon his horse more than 
ten minutes. He at length dismounts and walks away. Perhaps 
it was only to tease and annoy the aphis that he thus clung to it. 
“ July 9. Visited M’s spring wheat. This field is surrounded 
by woods except on one side, and the midge does not appear to 
have found it, for I discover no flies upon nor larvae in the ears. 
Both the aphis and the Mistaken parasite are more numerous 
here than I have seen them in any other field. This looks as 
though these insects belonged together. Chlorops flies are also 
plenty on this wheat.” 
Prom these observations it appears quite doubtful whether this 
