76 
BRITISH GALLS 
maggot changes to a reddish chrysalis, from which the gout- 
fly appears about harvest-time.”* 
The frit-fly, Oscinis frit Linn, (vastator Curtis), does much 
mischief to cereals and pasture grasses in Europe and 
America. The larva eats into the heart of young plants; 
the new shoots become swollen and distorted, the malforma¬ 
tions resembling those induced by eelworms. The gall-gnats 
of Willows and Osiers above alluded to not infrequently 
occur to an injurious extent. The Board of Agriculture has 
issued a leaflet (No. 165) concerning them. 
Though Loudon, Selby, and others, held the opinion that 
the Yew seldom suffers from the attacks of insects, there are 
numerous recorded instances of damage resulting from the 
attacks of Oligotrophus taxi, — e.g., Dr. Lowe observed trees 
at Dinder, near Wells, that were much infested “ on their 
upper branches, which were stunted and unhealthy-looking, 
while the lower branches, which were almost free from galls, 
were well grown and vigorous.” These galls are more abun¬ 
dant in the southern counties than in the northern, and are 
said to be unknown in Scotland. 
* Eleanor Ormerod, “ Manual of Injurious Insects ” (second 
edition), p. 76. 
