TARE WEEVIL. 
135 
In some instances these masses were chiefly green, but often they 
were brown, and injured towards the middle of the bunch. Each 
individual floret (or rather what would have been the floret, if it had 
not been attacked) was usually swelled at the base into a shape like a 
little bulb, with the calyx tips surmounting it like minute feathers. 
Besides the injury to the buds, I found much deformity caused to 
the leaves. The lower part of the leaf stalk was greatly swelled (to 
five or six times its natural width), and, instead of standing out at an 
acute angle from the stem, was often curved backwards, so as partly to 
encircle it, or turned downwards. The leaflets were sometimes merely 
placed somewhat nearer together than was natural, sometimes so closely 
that the two sides of each leaflet were pressed together, and against 
those on each side along the leaf stem, like the flattened fingers of a 
glove. The heads were also somewhat turned down, and when the 
leaf stems near were also swelled, the deformed condition was very 
noticeable. 
The magnified figure, at p. 187, of one of the diseased heads shows 
the stunted florets massed together, with a number of the partially 
unfolded leaflets pressed almost against each other, and growing from 
a much swelled and distorted leaf stalk. I had not, however, the 
opportunity of making out with any degree of certainty the kind of 
insect which caused the attack. So far as I can make out by insect 
presence, or by description, it might be caused by a Cecidomyia, or by 
the Apion pomonce, one of the Clover weevils, or by both. If any 
reader, either from personal observation or from better entomological 
knowledge, should have traced the attack to its cause, it would be of 
very serviceable interest if he would be good enough to let us know. 
In the heads of Tares sent me on the 15th of July, and somewhat 
later on, I found larvae of some kind of Cecidomyia, or Gnat Midge 
(little maggots resembling the well-known Bed Maggot of Wheat in 
shape and size), with the anchor process very plainly to be seen under 
a one-incli object glass. The largest specimens were of a rather pale 
orange colour, the smallest, up to about half-grown, white or whitish. 
The “anchor process,” that is, the kind of horny scraper lying beneath 
the body at the head end, was distinctly bifid at the free extremity, 
though not so deeply cut in as in that of the Cecidomyia leguminicola (the 
American Clover-seed Midge), figured at p. 23. The position of the 
scraper will be seen from the “ Bed Maggot,” figured at 2 on the same 
page. The maggots were somewhat numerous * in the heads first 
examined. Later on, that is, on the 28tli of July, Mr. Hamlin 
wro te :—“ It may be of interest to you to know that I had considerable 
difficulty in finding heads containing the maggots to send you on the 
* There were also some Thrips present, almost entirely of a bright yellow 
colour, excepting towards the extremity of the tail, which was black. 
