REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST IQI7 113 
by Schmidberger. A translation of his account has been given by 
Doctor Smith as follows: 
When the blossom buds of the pear tree were so far developed 
that in the single blossoms a petal showed itself between the seg- 
ments of the calyx, I found the first gall midge in the act of laying 
its eggs in the blossom; this was on the 12th of April. It had fixed 
itself almost perpendicularly in the middle of a single blossom, 
and having pierced the petal through with its long ovipositor, it 
laid its eggs on the anthers of the still closed blossom. The female 
was about seven and a half minutes in laying her eggs. When she 
had flown away, I cut the pierced bud in two, and found the eggs 
lying in a heap one upon another on the anthers. They were white, 
longish, one side pointed and transparent, and 10 to 12 in number. 
I afterwards found several midges engaged in laying their eggs as 
late as the 18th of April, from which day they ceased to appear in 
the garden. I also saw a gall midge on the side of a blossom with its 
Ovipositor inserted in it, so that they do not merely pierce the petals 
but the calyx also. I even saw one, which having been somewhat 
long in laying its eggs, could not draw out the ovipositor from the 
blossom; the cause of which I conceived to be that the wound had 
begun to close during the operation and the ovipositor was thereby 
held. 
Schmidberger, according to Doctor Smith, states that the eggs 
hatch quickly in warm weather, since on the fourth day after their 
deposition he had found small larvae on the young fruit. They enter 
near the calyx and before the blossom is expanded they descend to 
the core so as not to be exposed to the rays of the sun. They separate 
at this point and begin to devour the pear on all sides. The entrance 
to the ovary or core of the young pear is wide open and there is, 
therefore, no eating or piercing required on the part of the midge 
larva. The young maggots develop rapidly as the fruit sets. They 
are at first whitish, later changing to yellow or orange with maturity, 
which usually occurs early in June. Rains coming at this time cause 
the fruit to decay rapidly and crack, giving the maggots an oppor- 
tunity to drop to the soil which they penetrate from one-half of an 
inch to 2 inches and lie for some time unchanged. About midsummer 
oval silken cocoons, covered with grains of sand, are exuded and the 
maggots remain therein unchanged until early spring, the flies 
appearing about the time the trees bloom. 
Description. The larva and pupa have been described by Doctor 
Riley: 
“Tarva. Length, 4mm to4.5 mm. Color pale yellow. Surface 
polished and very faintly reticulated. Breastbone pale brownish, 
its apex broadly bilobed. Body (13 joints and subjoint) fourteen 
jointed, exclusive of the head. Antennae two jointed. Anal sub- 
