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LIFE

HISTORY

OF

THE

VARIEGATEDUTWORM

TACHINA

FLY,

1

ARCHYTAS

ANALIS

2

By

H.

W .

ALLEN

AssociateEntomologist,Mississippi

Agricultural

ExperimentStation

3

INTRODUCTION

This

pecieswas

escribed

riginallyby

Fabricius

7,

.11)

4

in

1805

asTachina

analis.

t

wasdescribed

s

Jurinia

amethystina

byMacquart

10,i,

,

p.

99)

n

842 ,s

achinaapicifera

y

Walker

21,

p.

18)

n

849 ,

nd

s

.

aliforniae

22,

p.

70)

y

Walker

in

856.

uring

ecent

years

everal

contributions

o

he

distribution

ecord

ave

eenmade,

most

otable

fhich

re

those

frimley5 ,

p.1)

nd

ohnson

9,

p.

206) ,

nd

t

as

several

imeseen

recordedas

a

valuable

parasite

ofhevariegated

cutwormLycophotiamargaritosa

Haw.)

andthe

armyworm Cirphis

unipunctaHaw.).herman

14,

p.

01)

oted

hat

hisarasite

emerges

romhe

pupa

fts

host;

and

Reinhard

IS)

ound

hat

the

adult

istronglyattractedolowers,

and

he

listedhepecies

to

which

it

is

attracted

in

Texas.

During

the

lasttw oyears

the

writer

has

been

makinga

biological

study

of

thetachinidparasites

ofSoutherncrop

pestsat

the

Missis-

sippi

AgriculturalandMechanicalCollege.

rchytas

analis

has

been

found

o

e

nef

he

ommonest

andmost

beneficial

achinidsin

y

that

ection.

t

as

iscovered

hat

eryittle

oncerninghe

detailsof

its

life

historyhadbeenpublished,

o considerablepart

of

1924

wasdevoted

to

work

with

this

insect.

here

are

still

many

points

n

tsiology

which

have

not

een

efinitely

stablished,

and

others

in

which

the

data

re

rather

limited.

ut

onsiderable

newinformation

has

beeniscovered,andinceveryfew

contribu-

tions

to

the

biology

of

thegroup

to

which

thisspecies

belongs

have

beenmade,the

writerwishesto

submithisresults

for

publicationat

this

time.

Biologically,this

species

belongs

without

question

to

GroupIV

of

Pantel11,

p.

32)

o

which

Baer3,p.203)

has

recently

givenhe

name

Echinomyiagroup,

andwhich

Townsend

has

alledthe

Hys-

triciine

series

17,

p.

132).

DESCRIPTION

The

riginal

description

fheadult

by

Fabricius

on

pecimens

from

SouthAmerica,"America

mridionale/ '

is

too

superficialto

be

1

Acommon name

suggested by

its

prevalence

as

a

parasite

of

the

variegatedcutworm.

2

Keceived

fo rpublication

Aug.25,

1

2 5 ;issued

February,

1926.

Thewriterisindebtedto

W.

C.

Cook,

J.J.Davis,C.L.

Fluke,J.L.Hoerner,A.L.Melander,

CE.

Mickel,H.C.Severin,M.H.Swehkj

and

R.

.

Websterfo rcontributionstothedistributionrecord;

to

J.

M.Beal,professorof

botany

Mississippi

Agricultural

andMechanical

College,

fo r

determination

of

host

plants;

and

to

H.

Qladney

and

.

K.

Holloway

or

much

assistance

n

the

nsectary

and

he

laboratory.

Reference

ismade

by

number

(italic)

to

"Literature

cited,"p.

434 .

JournalofAgriculturalResearch, ol.XXXII,No.5

Washington,

D.

C.

ar.

1 , 1926

Key

No.

Miss.-2

417)

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418

ournal

of

Agricultural

Research

o l .

xxxn,

N o .

5

of

much

present-day

valuen

differentiatinghe

pecies.

owever,

several

detailed

descriptions

of

hepecies

are

available,and

tcan

be

eadily

determined

by

hekeysnoquillettes

Revision

of

he

Tachinidae"

6,

.0 ,42).

n

rdero

acilitate

reliminary

determination,

he

following

diagnostic

characters

are

given.

The

adults

moderately

arge,obust

ly

with

a

awny

ellow

pollinose

thorax,and

a

coal-black

abdomen.

he

eyes

arenaked,ocellarbristleslacking;

the

hird

antennal

joint

s

carcely

onger

han

he

econd,

and

sprominently

convexon

he

anterior

margin;

heproboscissnearlyor

quite

as

ong

as

he

heightofthehead,

andthe

palpiare

normal.

t

isdistinguished

from

the

several

other

losely

elated

pecies

f

he

ame

genus

y

he

olor

f

he

bdomen

and

by

heidesfthefacebeingclothedwithnumerous

ine

whitehairsbut

lacking

bristles)and

by

the

color

of

the

calypteres,

which

arewhite.

FIRST-INSTARARVA

Elongateovalwhen

viewed

rom

above;

trongly

compressed;ubmarginate

atheides,witha

distinct

groove

extending

ongitudinally

between

he

wo

lateralidges.ntersegmentaryonstrictions

ell

efined.olorrayish-

whiteabove,becoming

whiteas

the

maggot

grows.

Young

maggotsfig.)are

FIG.

.Section

f

thedorsalcuticula

f

afreelivingmaggot,

howing

the

thickened

cuticularplates

X

600;c,thinly

chitinized

space

betweenthecuticular

plates;cp,cuticular

plate;

s,sensorium

covereddorsally

by

a

mosaic

of

coarseblackish

polygonalcuticularthickenings,

separated

by

ine

white

eticulations,

n

older

maggots

becomingeparated

by

wideareas

fwhite

cuticula.uticular

plates

are

evenly

distributed

over

the

dorsum,xceptathentersegmentaryonstrictions,

herehey

re

acking,

and

extend

slightly

ventrad

ofthe

lateral

margin;

under

highmagnification

they

are

seen

to

be

coarsely

stippled.

enter

of

each

segment

with

transverse

band

ofminute

serrate

spines,notin

serried

rows.

uccopharyngeal

apparatus(fig.

2)

withoutarticulations,medianhookmoderatelytout,luntlyipped,without

denticlesor

dorsalserrations,

and

with

delicaterecurvedhookson

either

sideof

theextremefront.

orsal

wings

of

the

basal

part

narrower

than

the

sinusand

about

as

wide

asthe

ventralwing

when

viewed

fromthe

side;

lowerwing

slightly

longerthan

theupper

wing.etapneustic,

posteriorspiraclewith

two

papillae;

atrium

felt

chamber)woohreeimesasongastswidth,rachea ystem

scarcelyvisiblethroughthecuticula.reeliving

maggots

.5 5

mm.ong,

.1 3

mm.

wide.

This

escription

pplies

articularly

o

ree

iving

aggots

n

foliage,

nd

o

heearlyparasiticife

n

he

ubcuticularposition.

In

theverymuch

larger

first-instarmaggotfound

in

the

bodycavity

ofhe

ost,

he

uticula

ecomestretchedhroughrowth,

he

spines

and

cuticular

plates

widelyseparated,

and

he

white

delicate

maggot

iscarcelyoberecognizedasofthe

same

instaras

ts

ree

living

counterpart.

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M a r .

i ,

1 9 2 6

LifeHistory

of

Variegated

CutwormTachina

Fly

19

* \

SECOND INSTAR

LARVA

Triangular

n

outline

when

viewedrom

bove,

lattened

ventrally,orsum

strongly

arched,

perceptible

lateral

prolongations

in

thepleural

regions.

olor

white,cutcula

transparent.

mall,but

well

defined

blackspines

in

long

trans-

verse

ows

on

he

anterior

half

f

he

ventral

part

f

he

horacic

egments;

last

four

segments

withextremelyminutebrownspines

in

long

transverse

rows

on

posterior

third

or

more

of

the

segment,extending

ventrally

except

on

the

anterior

twoftheour;lsewhereithout

pinyarmature.

outh

arts

ith

wo

articulations;

hooks

bifid,

the

two

prongsparallel

and

eparated

by

a

eep,litlike

left,

achro-

videdwitha

strongrounded

ven-

traldenticleandan

equal

orsal

prolongationndingn

trong

point.n

profileview,

the

dorsal

wings

larger

then

the

ventral,

from

whichhey

re

eparated

y

sinus

scarcely

one-third

the

width

ofheorsal

wing;asal

iece

evenly

and

heavily

hitinizedo

posteriormargin.etapneustic

;

eachposterior

piracle

separated

by

hree

imes

idth

f

ne;

spiracle

with

wo

lits,

the

ides

of

hichre

almostarallel

o

the

horizontal

plane.

The

second-instar

maggot

occursina

highly

character-

istichumpf

he

wing

pad

of

he

livingpupa

of

its

host,

throughthesemitransparentwalls

f

which

it

may

oftenbeclearly

seen.

THIRD INSTARLARVA

Somewhatompressed;riangularn

utline

whenviewed

rom

bove

pi.

1,

F).

olor

hite,

cutcula

thin,

delicate,

ransparent.

uticular

aramture

scanty,consisting

of

severalrows ofminute

black

spines

onthe

anterior

part

of

the

thoracicegments,

imilarpinesnundulating

owson

he

wholeurfacef

the

ast

egment,

dorsum

andventer

f

he

penultimate

and

antepenultimate,

andenter

f

he

ntermediate

bdominalegments.

n

he

leuralegion

there

is

a

very

distinctseriesofthree

rows

offleshycallosities

extending

thelength

of

heody.uccopharyngealpparatus

fig.,)esembleshat

f

he

second

instar,excepting

that

there

are

three

articulations,

and

themouth

hooks

are

more

bluntly

pointed.

mphipneustic;

anterior

spiracle(figj.

3 ,D)

consisting

oftwo

to

three

small

black

parallel

slits

or

papillae

notprotruding

conspicuously

aboveheurface

f

heurrounding

utcula;

osterior

piracles

eparated

from

each

other

by

ess

han

he

width

f

one

fig.

3 ,

C).

piracle

with

hree

nearlytraightslitsonsmooth,black,elevatedidges

fig.,

B)onverging

on

a

black

button

locatednearthemiddleoftheinside

margin.

FIG.

.Buccopharyngeal

pparatus

f

heirst-instar

maggot. X40 0

The

large

third-instar

maggot

occurs

in

the

dead

pupa

of

its

host,

the

cavity

f

which

salmostcompletelyilledwith

ts

oft

white

body.

Greene's

description

ofthe

puparium

{8,

p.

26)

is

asfollows

(fig.4 ):

Large;dull,

dark

red,

with

afaint

ndication

f

depression

or

tricture

at

the

posterior

nd.

piracles

hining

black,

lightly

aised

above

he

urface,

separated

bya

space

nearly

equal.to

hewidth

f

oneplate.

ach

plate

has

three

slits,

each

located

at

thetop

f

a

well-defined

ridge.

utton

fairlylargS,

round.

piracles

bove

ongitudinalxis,boutwo-thirds

he

widthfone

plate.

nal

opening

verymall,arbelow

hepiracles.

ength,

0 .5mm.;

diameter,

4 . 75

mm.

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4

Journal

of

AgriculturalResearch

o l .xxxn,N o .s

. P

at

FIG.

.Details

f

structure

f

hird-instar

larva.

,

buccopharyngeal

apparatus,

0;

B,

posterior

spiracle,

X

20 ;

C,outline

of

bothspiracles, showing

their

relative

position,

X

8;D,

anterior

spiracle,

lateral

aspect,X96 ;at,

atrium;

p.papilla

IPIG.

4.Details

ofthe

structure

of

thepuparium,

showing

the

outlinewhen

viewed

from

he

ide,

he

location

ofthe

posterior

spiraclewhenviewed

frombehind,

and

he

detailed

structure

of

the

posteior

spiracle.

(AfterGreen)

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Life

istoryofVariegated

utworm

Tachina

Fly

Plate

A.First-lnstar

maggot

in

subcuticular

positioninvariegated

cutworm.

X

25

B.Posteriorendfpupalase,

showing

characteristicbreathinglittorn

by

thethird-instar

maggotofArchytas

analis.

X

25

C.Freeliving

flrst-instar

maggotseatedinuplikeattachment,

and

lying

closelypressed

o

the

ubstratum. X25

D.Puparium

inpositioninpupalcase of

host,

the

upper

half

ofwhichhasbeen

removed

to

show

positionof

puparium.

X

3

E.Pupa

of

the

variegated

cutworm,

showing

the

haracteristic

wellingofhe

wing-pad

pro-

ducedby

the

presenceof

the

second-instarmaggot

of

Archytasanalis. X 6

F.Third-instar

maggot,

dorsal

view.

X

2 .5

O.Membranous

attachments

of

free

living

maggots

remaining

on

the

substratumafter

the

mag-

gots

havedisappeared,

x3 0

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422

ournalofAgricultural

Research

o l .xxxn,

NO.

5

LIFE

YCLE

The

ife

cycle

fhis

pecies

was

worked

utunder

ut-of-door

insectary

onditions.dults

ereaintainederyatisfactorily

in

wooden

cages

with

a

base

by

0

inches

and

a

depth

of

4

inches.

The

bottomofhecagewaskeptcoveredbymoistearth,

and

over

theopwas

placedaightlyitting

glass

plate.

none

end

of

he

cage

a

1-inch

hole

plugged

withcotton

served

partlyforventilation,

but

articularly

or

ddedonveniencenanipulation.

ood

andwater

were

provided

andchanged

daily.

n

order

o

acilitate

the

daily

manipulations,a

specialcagewas

built

inside

the

insectary,

just

largeenough

o

give

working

space

to

oneworker

with

a

breed-

ingage.ne

all

acing

he

ightas

creened.ll

he

ther

walls

ere

overed

ith

lack

loth

o

hut

ff

the

light.

t

was

found

hat

lieseaving

he

cages,

whenood

and

waterwere

being

changed,ould

lmost

nvariably

emain

n

heutside

creen,

responding

oheir

trongly

positive

phototropicnstinct,

and

were

readily

pickedupnmallvials

andeturnedo

heir

propj

cages

when

eady

o

eceive

hem

nce

ore.ugarater,diluted

honey,ndashed

anana

pread

nmall

ieces

f

ardboard

were

urnished

or

ood,

ndheneverpossibleprigs

f

nelilotus

bloom,

r

other

avored

host-plant

lowers

were

placed

n

he

cage

withthestemsinwater,andmaintainedwiththe

other

food.

ater

was

furnished

fromsaturated

sphagnum

moss

in

1-ouncesalveboxes.

Larviposition

as

eadily

btained

n

erbaceous

oliage

n

he

insectary.romuchtock,ransfers

f

maggotsrom

oliageo

caterpillar

ere

eadily

ccomphshedyaboratory

manipulation.

Infested

aterpillarsere

hereafteraintainedn-ounce

in

salve

boxes,

ellyglassesartly

illedithoil,r

under

nverted

jelly

glassesplaced

overlower

potsilled

withoil.

uparia

were

maintained

ost

uccessfully

n

phagnum

moss

ust

wet

nough

toeel

moist

ohe

ouch.

Adults

mate

almostimmediatelyaftertheemergenceof

the

female.

Mating

is

followed

by

the

preovispositional

period

during

which

time

theovanhe

body

ofheemaleareertilized.uringhe

ame

period

he

ertilized

ova

passdown

he

ong,

more

or

less

quadrate

uterovagina,wheretheydevelopinto

active

maggotsinclosed

in

athin

chorion

heath.

emales,

after

eaching

maturity,espositminute

maggotsnenormous

numbers

on

hetems,eaves,ndlowers-of

the

hosts'

ood

plants.

he

maggot

ies

more

or

less

quiescent

on

the

ubstratum

upon

whicht

waseposited,ntil

a

uitable

host

caterpillar

passes

within

each,

hen

he

maggotattaches

tself

o

the

bodyof

the

caterpillarand

crawls

to

someprotectedplacewhere

it

againbecomesquiescent.thenboreshrough

hemtegument,

a

process

requiringseveral

hours,

penetratingobliquely,andtakinga

positionetween

he

ypodermal

ayer

nd

he

utcula.

fter

spendingeveralaysn

his

osition,he

aggot

enetrates

he

body

avity,

n

which

t

asses

ver

nto

he

pupal

tage

of

he

host.

ere

it

occurs

first

in

a

sort

of

cradle

in

the

bulging

wing-pad,

witha

breathingpore

ohe

outside.

hedeath

ofhe

pupa

oon

takesplace.

n

itsrapidly

putrifying

contents

the

maggot

completes

itsdevelopment

and

invariablypupates

within

hepupal

case

ofits

host,romwhichthe

fly

emerges

afewdayslater.

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M a r .

i ,1 9 2 6

Life

History

ofVariegatedCutwormTacliina

Fly

4 3

DURATION

F

THE LIFE STAGES

The

durations

fthe

various

life

tages

f

analis

haveeensum-

marizedn

Table which

may

equire

ewwords

fexplanation

and

qualification.

TABLE

.

-Durationofthelife

stages

ofArchytas

analis

Time

of

experiments

Num-

berin

experi-

ment

Duration

in

days

Life

stage

Mini-

mum

Maxi-

mum

Aver-

age

Adult:

Preovipositional

-.

Middle

of

June

to

middle

of

August...

Middle

of

Juneto

late

August

9

7

8

3

19

3 0

10.6

Larvipositional

13 .3

Late

Juneto

earlySeptember

Longevity-

16

20

2

1

53

47

19.9

Females

..

o

.

23 .9

o

oth

sexes

3 6

1

53

22.0

Late

April

toearly

June

Larva:

Free

living-

Lot

1

3 1

-90

1

23

3

2

4

24

7

13

3 1

16

24

18

18

18.1

Lot 2

July

Parasitic

Loti -

May

24 . 0

Lot2

Late

June

to

late

July

11.6

Lots

Late

August

to

middle

of

September.

Late

May

to

middle

ofJune

16 .0

Puparium:

Lotl-

Males

9

6

10

11

13

12

11.0

Females

o

--

11 .8

o

oth

sexes

15

10

13

11 .4

Lot2

Males

July

9

12

10

11

1 1

13

10.4

Females _

_ .do--

11.6

ooth

sexes

21

10

13

11.1

LotS-

Males

September.

=

2

2

13

14

13

14

13 . 0

Females > -

_ _

do

.

14 . 0

o

oth

sexes

4

13

14

13 .5

Combined

parasitic

larva

and

puparium:

Late

June

toearlyAugust.

23

4

4

19

21

25

3 0

23

31

22.6

Lot

2

August

_

22.0

Lots

LateAugustand

September__

_

28.5

Approximate.

The

prelarvipositional

and

also

he

larvipositional

period

was

de-

termined

forfemales

copulatingon

he

day

of

mergence,

ed

and

watered

daily,

and

allowedto

run

with

males

untilthe

death

ofthe

latter.

uring

the

larvipositional

period

maggots

were

notdepos-

ited

everyday,1

o

3

days

frequentlyelapsingwithout

larviposition.

Death

f

he

emale

was

customarily

precededby o

daysf

reproductive

nactivity;

n

nease,

after

days

fnormal

arvi-

position,

by

3

daysf

nactivity.

hree-fourthsf

he

maggots

obtained

nhis

experimentwere

deposited

n

from

0

o

0

days

following

the

emergence

of

the

female.

dult

longevity

was

deter-

mined

rom

pecimensmaintainednhensectarynhe

normal

mannerthroughoutthe

hottersummermonths.

Thefreeliving

first-instar

maggotsare

remarkably

hardy.

heir

longevity

wasoundo

varyconsiderably

with

he

eason,being

longerinthe

cooler

months.

In

lot

1,

individualsattachedtoshort

8/9/2019 In d 43967241 PDF

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424

ournal

of

Agricultural

Research

o l .xxxn,N o .5

sections

of

melilotus

tems

were

maintainednhensectary

incov-

ered

elly

glasses,

nder

omewhat

unfavorable

onditions.not

2 ,

bout0maggots

ere

eposited

on

uly,

n

mallpotted

melilotus

plant,

which

was

maintained

navigorous

growingcondi-

tion

hroughout

he

xperiment,

nd

pon

hich

he

urviving

maggots

ere

ountedachay.

aggotsegan

oien

he

fourth

day,

he

death

rateremaining

very

low

untilhe

eighth

day,

then

ncreasing

apidly

untilhe

eathofhe

ast

oneonheix-

teenth

day.

aggots

deposited

onsprigsofAmaranthusandchrys-

anthemum,inthelatefall,passed

the

short,mild

winter

successfully,

themajority

emaining

vigorous

or

more

han

amonth,omeur-

vivinguntilFebruary25,

with

alongevityof

at

east2days.t

the

nd

of

his

ong

period,

he

ubstratum

had

become

ncrusted

with

mold,

orer

essesiccated,ndoll

ppearance

ighly

unfavorabletohehealthoftheattached

maggots.

nall

probabil-

ity,aggotseposited

t

heameimenhe

oliage

f

hardy

lants

inthe

field

camethroughthewinter

in

much

bettercondition,

'helongevityofhereeliving

maggots

s

not

an

exact

measure

of

theperioduring

whichheyarenfective.aggotsonheub-

stratum

are

often

o

weak

or

everal

days

before

hey

perishhat

they

areunableto

effectivelyestablish

themselves

on

a

passing

host.

It

was

found,

however,

hat

he

maggots,

deposited

and

maintained

onotted

elilotus

nder

onditions

pproximating

he

ormal,

wereableo

establish

hemselvesreadilyandopenetratehebody

of

he

hostupo

4

ays

fter

deposition,

venuring

he

most

unfavorable

idsummereather.

heffectiveongevity

free

living

maggotsduringthecoolermonthswasnot

determined,

butis

undoubtedly

much

longer.

The

maggot

duration

on

andin

the

hostishighlyvariable,

depend-

ing

irectlyon

heimeequiredorhe

host

ottaints

upal

stage,

and

indirectly

on

the

instar

of

the

host

infested,

he

degree

of

divergence

from

optimum

temperature

for

the

host,

andotherfactors.

Durations

undertheinfluenceofvariable

temperatures

are

indicated

inhehreelotsnTable

.he

host

for

lot

was

hevariegated

cutworm;

or

ot,he

yellow-striped

armywormProdeniaorno-

ihogalli

Guen),n

thelast

hree

instars;

andfor

lot

3 ,

irvhis

junci-

cola

Guen,

in

thelasttwoinstars.

he

pupal

periodwas

determined

at

threedifferenttimes,

and

it

also

was

foundto

vary

with

the season,

but

not

o

such

a

marked

degree

as

he

parasitic

larval

stage.

he

combined

maggotand

pupal

duration

romheime

of

nfestation

of

host

ohe

emergence

of

headultlywasdetermined

or

hree

differentots,

nd

constitutesmoreprecise

etermination

of

he

duration

of

this

period

thanthat

obtained

by

combining

the

separate

data

oflarval

and

pupaldurations.ots

and

were

rearedfrom

the

yellow-stripedarmy

worm,

lot

3 ,

from

CirpJiisjuncicola.

The

uration

f

he

ife

ycle

uringhective

evelopmental

season

was

found

o

be

as

follows:

Prelarvipositionaladult

life

o

19

days,

arvipositional

life

up

o

30

days,

ree

maggot

ife

o

1

days,

parasitic

maggot

ife

o4

days,

uparium

0

o

4days,

with

aminimumof25days

and

a

maximum

0118

days

for

the

com-

pletion

of

thecycle.

heoverwintering

generationalmost

certainly

has

an

even

longer

cycle,

butitsduration

hasnot

been

determined.

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M a r .

i,

1 9 2 6

Life

History

ofVariegated

CutwormTachinaFly

25

SEASONALCYCLE

The

seasonal

cycle

has

not

been

fullyworkedout.

n

north

central

Mississippi

here

eem

o

be

wo

complete

broods

each

year.

he

earliest-appearing

ndividuals

of

each

of

hese

broods

pass

hrough

to

aturity

n omparatively

hort

ime,ivingiseoeveral

partialbroods.

ut

he

ifecycleof

he

ate-appearing

ndividuals

of

ach

roods

uch

xtended,

roducing

roadly

verlapping

generationsromvery

earlyin

heeason.

nhe

nsectary

during

the

eason

of

924

hebeginningsofive

distinct

broodswereob-

tained,

andin

thefield

during

the

same

period

theremayhave

been

one

ortwo

more.

Theannernhichrchytasnalisibernatesasoteen

definitely

determined.

ree

living

maggots

on

substratum

ucceed-

inginpassingthewinter

successfully

in

the

insectary,

some

surviving

aslateasFebruary25 ,after

withstanding

more

than

oneexposureto

freezing

emperaturend

very

ongnactiveperiod

nhe

ub-

stratum.

ll

ied,owever,nhe

arly

pring

eforeuitable

caterpillar

hosts

could

beprovided,

and

it

appears

to

beby

no

means

certainthat inthefieldthewinterissuccessfullypassed

inthisstage.

HABITSOFTHEADULT

FEEDING

Reinhard

18)asollecteddults

f

nalis

rom

roomweed

(Amphixicyrisracunculoides),itterweed,Helenumenuifolium),

wild

aster(Aster

lateriflorus)

Rudbeckia

bicolor,

sweet

clover

(Melilotus

alba),

nd

rairieacia

Oecnan

Uinoensis)

n

exas.

ownsend

16,

p.

177)hasaken

themfromflowers

of

Lippialanceolata

in

the

same

tate.

ldrich

2 ,

.

3)ecordsaking

hem

romweet

clover

and

golden

rod.

In

common

withothertachinidspossessing

an

elongate

proboscis,

this

pecies

s

preeminentLy

a

lower-visiting,nectar-feeding

pecies.

Several

fliescollected

on

melilotushave

beendissected

and

thecrops

examined.

nall

caseshe

cropswere

distended

with

a

clear

fluid,

not

mixed

with

pollengrainsorother

solid

substances,

and

giving

a

strong

positive

reaction

toFehling'ssolution,indicatingthe

presence

of

glucose.

nMississippiheadults

aremostcommonlyattracted

to

he

flowersof

herbaceous

plants

n

open

fields,heyhaving

been

frequently

observed

n

conspicuous

warms

at

he

lowers

of

weet

clover,

airy

etch,

martweed

Polygonum

ennsylvanicum

.),

chrysanthemum,

nd

at

he

lowers

and

nectaries

of

moothvetch.

They

have

alsobeen

noted

less

frequentlyathe

flowersofcrimson

clover,

JhaerophyUumeinturieriHook,Geranium

carlinianum

L.,

theildweet

pea

iMhyrus

usillus

Ell.),

idens

ristosa

Brit.,

Aster

ericoides

puosusPort.,andsoy

bean.

hile

hey

areusually

attracted

o

herbaceous

plants,

hrubs

orevenreeops

are

visited

in

earchof

ood,

ew

adults

having

been

observed

eedingrom

the

lowers

f

pirea

anTioutei,

nd

t

he

ectaries

n

he

eaf

petiolesof

peach.

hile

nectar

is

unquestionably

the

principal

food

ofhe

adult,

oneydew

is

ometimes

aken,adults

havingbeenob-

servedfeeding

onhoneydew-smearedfoliage

of

tuliptrees

(Liriodendron

tulipiferaL.)

beneath

a

heavy

nfestationfhe

tuliptreesoft

scale

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ournalofAgriculturalResearch

o l .xxxn,

N o .

5

(ToumeyellaliriodendriGmel),andonthe

foliageof

turnips

covered

with

the

honeydewof

the

turnip

aphis

(Rhopolosivhum

pseudobrassicae

Davis).

n

confinement,dults

eed

veryreely

onugar,

iluted

honey,

mashed

banana,

and

similar

sweets.

COPULATION

Copulationhas

never

beenobservednheield,butnnsectary

cages

there

wasplenty

of

opportunitytoobserveitbetweenfemales

only

a

ew

hoursrom

hepuparium

andmales

adayor

more

old.

The

exes

remain

in

coitu

rom

fouroiveminutes.ertilization

of

the

female

in

thefield

undoubtedly

akes

lace

almost

as

soonas

its

wings

have

expanded.

LARVIPOSITION

Deposition

of

arvse

hasbeen

noted

occasionallyin

heield,nd

many

imesn

hensectary.s

hefemale

walksoverhe

tems,

shefrequently

ouches

he

substratumwith

thetip

of

her

abdomen,

depositing

hereon

aggot.

overing

he

osteriorndfhe

maggots

eing

epositeds

inute

embranous

up.t

he

time

f

deposition

he

emale

astens

his

cup

ecurely

o

he

ub-

stratum,urnishing

he

maggotwith

ixed

basebuteaving

he

remainder

of

its

body

free.

t

the height

of

its

larvipositionalperiod

theemalemay

deposit

smanyas0

o

2

maggots

per

minute.

Periodsofdepositionalternate

with

periodsof

rest.ithflies

con-

fined

n

cages

t

was

ound

hat

on

hose

plants

having

both

stems

and

leaves

alarge

majority

of

the

maggotsweredepositedupon

the

stems,ut

ome

were

lso

eposited

nhe

eaf

urface,

tipules,

blossoms,

n

act,

nyucculentexposed

part

of

he

plant.

hen

deposited

upon

eaf

blades,

he

under

ide

was

preferred.

lies

n

confinement

larviposited

quite

freely

on

thefoliage

of

several

species

of

herbaceousplants,

none

beingavoided.

rell

12)

has

advanced

the

ideathatadult

tachinids

are

attractedto

infestations

by

amore

orless

diffuse

infestation

odor,

butthattheseflies,

when

oncepresent

in

an

nfestation,utilizeomething

other

han

he

ense

of

smell

o

locatehe

individual

parasite.uch

adiffusedinfestation

odor

was

undoubtedly

resent

nder

nsectaryonditions,

ut

arviposition

was

at

all

times

readily

obtained

in

cages

without

the

stimulation

of

the

ctual

presencenhe

age

fhost

aterpillars.

aggots

re

usually

depositedwithheir

axes

parallelo

hatof

he

tem

or

leaf

upon

which

they

areplaced.

SEGREGATION

OF

SEXES

NTHEFIELD

Adultsereollectedtrequentntervals

uring

heummer

of

924 .he

proportion

of

hewo

exes

boreno

ixed

relation

o

the

normal,

andindicated

sexualsegregationin

he

ield,

as

may

be

noted

in

the

following

tabulation

:

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M a r .i ,1 9 2 6 LifeHistoryofVariegatedCutworm

Tachina

Fly

4 7

TABLE

II

Showing

periodical

fluctuation

inproportion

ofexesn

he

ield

Date Males

males

Where

collected

Date Males

Fe-

males

Where

collected

Apr. 15

0

2

Flowersofcrimsonclover.

Aug.8 0 1

Flowers

ofsoy

bean.

Apr.1

0

3 Smooth

vetch.

Aug.9

0

2

Aboutolony

fall

rmy

May5

0

1

On

wild

sweet

pea.

worm.

May9

3

0

Nectaries

ofpeach.

Flower

of

melilotus.

Do_ 0

At

nectariesofcowpea.

June

0

1 1

Aug.3

0

Aboutolonyfall

rmy

June

7

4

0

Foliage

under

pecan

trees.

worm.

Do

15

0

Grass

under appleorchard.

Flowers

of

melilotus.

Aug.

4

0

Atnectaries

of

cowpea.

June

0

8

2

Sept.0

8

Overground

previously

in-

June

3

9

1

Do.

fested

with fall

army

July

6

2

3 Do.

worm.

July1

3

0

Do.

-

Do.

1

Flowersof

Bidens.

July

6

1

0

Do.

Sept.

5

1

Over

Johnson

grass.

A

tudyf

he

above

grouping

will

howhatnegardohe

proportion

of

sexes,

fourroughseasonaldivisionscan

bemade.

he

first,

fromApril

15to

May

15,

inwhichonly

females

were

encountered,

coincides

roughly

with

the

period

oflocal

infestation

of

the

variegated

cutwormwhen

he

caterpillarswereabundant.he

econd,

rom

May

9to

July

6,

represents

he

mainswarming

period

oranalis

for

he

eason,,

when

adults

were

present

n

normous

numbers

at

the

flowers

of

melilotus.

uringthis

period

both

sexes

were

present,

but

ales

ere

everal

imes

ore

umeroushanhe

emales.

Thisperiodwas

contemporaneous

with

the

emergence

of

analis

and

theurvivinghostadults

from

heheavy

local

infestation

f

vari-

egajbedutworm.

eestablishment

f

he

nfestationailedo

occur,

ndouitable

hosts

were

at

hat

imeocally

abundant.

The

third

period,

romAugust

8to

August

24 ,was

againmarked

by

heresence

f

numerousemales,nd

practically

o

ales.

Tjiis

period

coincided

with

heavy

outbreaks

ot

he

fall

army

worm

Laphygma

frugiperda

uen)ixedwithirphis

uncicola,

bout

which

he

dultliesere

bundant.

heourtheriod,rom

September

10

to

September

15,

was

marked

by

thepresenceof

manv

males

and

only

a

veryew

emales,

imilarohe

econd

perioa.

Itcoincidedwith

theemergenceperiod

ofparasitesand

hostadults

from

he

olonies

fhe

allrmyworm

nd

irphis

uncicola.

Here

againthe

hosts

failedto

reestablish

the

infestation,

practically

vanishingfrom

the

locality,

andno

caterpillars

suitablefor

parasite

attack

could

be

found

in

the

vicinity.

The

nderlying

easons

or

hisegregation,

rom

heimited

nature

f

he

data,arehighly

conjectural.

hepreponderance

f

males

atone

ime

andfemales

atanothercan

not

be

xplained

by

differences

inproportion

of

sexes,

which

were

alwaysnearly

equally

divided

in

nsectary

rearings;

nor

by

ifferingimes

fmergence,

forinallinsectary

work,

nemalescome

outonly

adayortw oat

themostbeforethe

females;norbytheearly

death

of

the

males,

for

their

longevity,

s

determined

in

he

insectary,

s

only

slightly

less

thanhat

f

he

emale.

dults

f

analis

arepowerfuln

light,

andit

seemsquite

likely

that

females,after

beingfertihzed,

ifsuit-

able

hosts

are

notlocally

abundant,

migrate

out

ofthe

region

in

which

they

have

passedtheirparasiticexistence,leavingthemales.behind

to

mate

with

the

other

femalesasthey

emerge

from

day

to

day.

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Agricultural

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o l .

xxxn,

N o .

5

It

iscertainhathe

seasonalfluctuationsn

abundance

of

adults

inheield,hichre

oonspicuous,hould

nno

way

benter-

preted

ashe

light

periods

of

well

differentiated

broods,

ut

ather

as

variations

in

the

status

of

the

parasite

due

to

the

constantly

chang-

ingconditionsinheabundanceoffoods

and

favored

hosts.

ACTIVITY

N

RELATION

TO

METEOROLOGICALCONDITIONS

Adults

f

analisre

active

n

he

ieldunderidextremes

f

atmosphericconditions.nmidsummerheyrequently

have

been

observeddisplaying

normalactivity

n

dry

open

ields,

tidday

withhe

emperature

s

igh

as

94

F.nd

he

elative

humidity

from2

o9

per

cent.henormal

hostsareot

usually

foundn

abundance

nder

uch

xtreme

onditions

f

eat

nd

ryness.

These

observations

ndicate

hat

he

adultparasite

canwithstand

any

degree

of

heatanddryness

notnhibitiveo

hehost.

t

he

other

extreme,

t

has

beenobservedhatadultsmaybefound

in

the

cold,arly

winter

days,

when

nearly

allother

adult

achinids

have

disappeared.

hus

dults

fanalis

ave

been

akenlyingbout

flowers

on

chilly,cloudy

daywithhe

emperature

at

67F.

n

insectaryxperiments,dults

were

nactive

at

emperatures

below

63

F.;

from63

to

73

their

activity

was

limited

to

walking,

running,

and

sluggish

flying;

at

temperatures

above

73

hey

were

very

active.

HABITS

FHE

ARVAE

FIRSTNSTAR

So

long

as

hey

are

not

disturbed,

he

free

living

maggots

emain

seated

n

he

basal

cuplike

membrane,

s

deposited

by

heemale,

with

the

bodylying

quiescent

and

closely

pressedto

the

substratum

(pi.

,

),napositioninwhichtheyare

manifestly

protectedfrom

the

igors

of

adverse

atmospheric

conditions

by

he

dorsal

covering

ofhickened

cuticular

plates.

s

Prell

has

ndicatednhenearly

related

anzeria

udis

12),urther

rotection

sfforded

y

he

basal

membrane,

hichpartially

ealsheonly

unctional

piracle

possessed

in

histage.

heneverhesubstratum

s

disturbed,

he

maggot

rearsupwards

fig.)

on

itsposteriorend,

winging

the

head

about

n

widecircles

n

an

attempto

ouch

tshost.requently,

intsxcessof

excitement,maggot

will

deliberatelycrawl

away

from

its

basal

attachment

o

he

substratum

n

order

o

bring

itself

within

striking

distance

ofitshost,

whose

presence

it

hasperceived.

Amaggot

failing

to

make

a

uitable

contact

subsides

o

he

original

position

closelypressed

o

heubstratum.f,owever,

t

trikes

the

bodyof

apassing

host

t

mmediately

eleases

tself

rom

he

basal

membrane,

which

emains

attached

o

heubstratumpi.

,

G),

ndcrawlsonto

he

bodyofhe

host.

aggots

attachhem-

selves

eadily

oateast

heast

hree

arval

instars.

aggotson

substratum

exhibitome

powers

ofdifferentiation

of

possible

hosts,

but

this

power

is

manifestly

not

very

highly

developed.

or

instance,

maggots

attach

themselves

quitereadily

to

caterpillars

ofthe

varie-

gated

cutworm,

he

army

worm,

he

all

army

worm,

ll

of

which

serve

as

normalhosts,

as

well

as

he

yellow-striped

army

wormand

Oirphis

uncicola,

romwhich

hey

have

been

eared

after

artificial

infestation.utthey

will

also

attach

themselvesreadily

tothebeet

army

worm

LapTiygma

exigua

Hueb.)

;

he

grapeleaf-folder

De$mia

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M a r .

1 , 1 9 2 6

Life

HistoryofVariegated

Cutworm

Tachina

Fly

29

funercHisHueb.),

hegardenwebwormLoxestege

similalis

Guen.),

and

he

dingy

cutwormFeltiasubgothicaHaw.).

ntowo

f

he

latter,amely

hebeetrmy

wormandhe

dingy

utworm,he

maggots

wereable

to

penetratein

a

normalmanner,

but

theyfailed

to

omplete

heir

development,

and

here

s

o

ecord

hat

any

f

theseever

serve

s

normal

hosts.

n

he

other

hand,

ome

cater-

pillars

are

deliberately

refused.

aggots

brought

into

contactwith

the

aterpillarsf

heorn-ear

orm

Heliothisbsoleta

Hueb.),

the

granulate

cutworm

Fdtm

annexa

Treit.),

he

cabbage

ooper

Autographa

brassicae

Riley),

and

the

bagworm

hyridopteryx

ephe-

meraeformis

Haw.)

persistentlyefuse

o

attachhemselves.

one

ofhesecaterpillarsare

normal

hosts.

After

attaching

itself

o

he

body

ofts

hosthe

maggot

rawls

about

for

few

minutes,

usually

oming

o

rest

in

some

more

or

less

protectedfold

of

the

cutcula.

mong

257

maggotsallowed

toes-

tablish

themselves

on

host

aterpillers

con-

fined

ith

hemnreedingages,t

was

found

that

theventer

andpleuronof

thehost

body

waspreferredo

the

dorsum,

and

hat

many

more

soughtoutthefirst

five

segments

than

the

other

segments

of

the

body,

hough

maggotsereenerally

cattered

ver

ll

partsf

he

body,

except

he

heavilychiti-

nizedhead.

he

maggot

exudesa liquid

sub-

stancewhich

ndrying

fastens

its

body

e-

curelyohecutcula

f

he

host,

wheret

mayremainquiescent

for

24hoursormore.

Itinallycuts

olen

he

utcula,nd

slowlyworksitsway

into

the

body,

entering

at

an

extremely

oblique

angle,

o

that

it

lies

o s i t i o n ,

s e a t e d

m

t s

c u p i i k e

just

beneaththecuticular and

betweenit

and

hment

t0

thesubstratum

-

thehypodermallayer,

wheret

canbeis-

tinctlyseenfrom

he

outsideincaterpillarshaving

hin

cutcula

(pi.1,A).enetrationiseffectedwithoutleaving

a

scar,andnosur-

face

breathing

porewith

the

attached

breathing

funnelis

maintained.

Subcuticular

maggots,

while

stillinthe

first

instar,and

while

thehost

is stlan activecaterpillar,

borethrough

into

thebody

cavity,

where

they

appear

to

wander

freely

about

until

the

end

of

the

feeding

period

of

their

host.

t

this

time

the

maggot

takes

up

a

fixed

position

in

the

thoracic

egion,

molting

here

o

he

econdinstar

s

he

hosts

transforming

to

the

pupal

stage.anymaggotsmaypenetrate

the

body

of

thenost,but

rapid

reduction

in

numbers

takes

place

among

those

which

penetratethe

bodycavity,

sothat

whenthesecond

instar

is

reached

only

two

orthreeremainalive.

SECOND

INSTAR

The

resence

f

he

young

econd-instar

maggot

n

he

ewly

formed

upa

nducesne

roduction

f elicatemembranous

sheath,whichissomewhatmoreheavilyconstructed

toward

thewall

of

thehost.hemaggotwithinthis

sheath

isfoundinhenewly

formed

pupa

cradled

in

a

highly

characteristicbulge

of

the

wingpad

(pi.

,

). N obreathingunnel

s

eveloped,

ut

he

posterior

8224126t

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430

ournal

of

Agricultural

Research

o l .

xxxn,

N o .s

spiracles

f

hemaggotareapplied

o

a

ruptureat

helower

end

f

the

wing

pad,

hrough

whichairisobtained.

fter

pupation

of

the

host,

maggotdevelopmentis

much

accelerated,hemaggot

growing

rapidly,

killing

its

host

at

the

end

of

he

second

or

he

beginning

f

the

thirdinstar.

THIRD

NSTAR

At

he

eath

fheupa

he

hird-instar

aggot

rows

ery

rapidly,

iving

argely

necayingissues,

ll

f

heofter

arts

being

consumed,hemaggot

becoming

oarge

as

nearlyo

ill

he

interiorf

he

hostpupa

withtsbulk.n

his

nstar

he

maggot

obtains

ts

necessary

upply

f

air

by

cutting

a

minute

hole

n

he

extreme

frontof

he

pupalcase,o

which

heanal

piraclesareap-

plied

asit

works

toward

the

posterior

endof

thepupa.

henfeed-

ingisnearly

completed,everalmuchlarger

slits

aretorn

about

the

periphery

of

oneof

thesegments

near

the

anal

end

pi.

,

B),

sothat

thelatter

is

frequentlynearly

severed.he maggotthenfacesabout

so

hat

ts

nterior

end

iesnheanterior

endfhe

pupal

case,

and

pupates,hepuparium

completely

fillingthe

middle

part

f

he

host

pupalcasepi.

,

D).

RELATIONF

HE

ARASITE

O

TS

OST

Thehostcaterpillar

displays

nomarked

irritation

when

he

mag-

gotsattachhemselves

o

ts

body,

crawl

overhe

urface,

r

even

when

theypenetrate

he

cutcula.nlessheavily

overstockedwith

maggots,it

completes

its

development

to

the

pupal

stage

inanormal

manner,the

presence

ofseveral

maggots

intheirfirstinstar

producing

neither

abnormalsymptomsnorappreciable

lesions

intheirhost.n

the

variegated

cutworm,

pupation

normally

occurs

in

an

earthen

cell

aninchor

morebeneath

the

soil

surface.

uring

its

early

pupallife

inhiscellhehostuccumbs

o

heparasite,

which

completes

ts

developmentonheisintegrated

contents

ofts

host,ransforming

toa

puparium

inits

empty

pupal

case.

Rather

early

intheseasonanumberofvariegatedcutworpswere

dissected

otudyhedevelopmentof

he

parasitewithin

ts

host.

Inhis

ot

t

was

ound

hat

irst-instar

maggots

occurn

he

ub-

cuticular

position

up

obout

5ays

rom

ime

f

enetration,

second-instar

maggots

were

encountered

rom

he

ixteenth

o

he

twenty-secondday,andhe

hird

instarfromhewenty-secondo

the

twenty-sixth

day.

Thespeed

ofdevelopmentof

theparasite,

whichmust

necessarily

await

he

pupaltage

of

he

hostbefore

being

enabled

o

complete

itsparasitic existence,

is

largely

dependent

on

the

rate of

development

of

ts

host.

his

shownvery

clearlyin

TableII.hose

cater-

pillars

nfestednheir

last

nstar

allowed

he

parasiteo

complete

its

development

o

he

adult

n

0

ays

nd

hose

nfested

n

he

penultimate

instar

in

22.2days.

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Life

History

of

Variegated

Cutworm

TacMna

Fly

43 1

TABLEII.ifference inspeed

f

evelopmentf

m ggot

tt cking

ifferentin

st rs

of

th e

host

Num-

ber

in

exper-

iment

Number

of

days

from

Instarof host

when

infested

Infest-

ingto

host,

a

prepupa

Host,a

a

pupa

Host,

a

pupa,to

pupal

death

Pupal

death

to

forma-

tion

f

pupa-

rium

Total

maggot

dura-

tion

Forma-

tion

f

pupa-

riumto

fly

emer-

gence

Total

maggot

and

pupal

dura

tion

Last

10

6

6

4.0

4.5

9.1

1.5

2.2

1.8

1 .6

2.0

2 .1

1 .5

2.6

1 .8

8.6

11.3

14 .8

11 .6

10.9

10.6

20 .0

Penultimate

22.2

Antepenultimate.

25 .4

Averages

5 .9

1 .8

1 .9

2.0

11.6

11.0

22.6

The

ntepenultimate-instar^caterpillars,

hich

equired

onsid-

erably

longertime

toattain

the

pupal

stagellowedtheir

parasites

tomerge

nly

after5 .4days.twaslsodetermined

hat

he

rate

fevelopmentof

heparasitic

life

was

notappreciably

influ-

encedbyhedurationfhepreceding

ree

iving

maggottage,

whether

the

latter

was

of

onlya

few

hours

duration

oramatter

f

days.

FECUNDITY

The

reproductivepower

of

Archytas

analis,aswith

other

parasites

depositing

their

progenyon

the

food

plant

ofthe

host,

is

very

high.

Theargest

number

f

maggotseposited

by

n

nsectary-reared

femalewas

79 ,ndby

anycaptured

emale,3 1 .he

verage

number

roduced

y

nsectary-rared

emales

as

70 ,

nd

he

numbers

deposited

daily

ranged

from

0

to

290 .

hese

numbers

are

veryprobably

less

than

inthe

field

undermore

favorableconditions.

One

aboratory-reared

emale,

issected

efore

arviposition

began

contained

890

maggots

and

undeveloped

ova.

his

great

eproduc-

tive

powerislargely

counterbalanced

by

the

highpercentageofinef-

fectivesamongthe

free

livingmaggots,

comparatively

fewofwhich

are

verconfronted

ith

anpportunityo

stablish

hemselves

on

a

host.

DISTRIBUTION

Archytasnaliss

enerally

istributed

hroughout

he

nited

States

f i g

6),

where

it

hasbeen

reported

from

all

sections,excepting

theextreme

Southwest.tlso

ccursnoutheasternCanada

1

p.85) ,

anto

omingo,amaica,t.

incent,

olombia,

nd

Venezuela.tas

ot

een

eported

utside

f

he

mericas.

While itappears

thatthisparasite

is

present

onlyin

the

Western

Hemis-

phere,tnas,within

heimits

f

tsange,ecomeadjusted

o

a

very

wide

variation

f

climatic

conditions,

being

present

rom

he

north

emperateowell

ntohe

ropical

one,nd

nheUnited

States

rom

heemi-aridSouthwest

ohe

humid

orest

egionf

theEastandfar

West.

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43

Journal

ofAgriculturalResearch

Vol.

XXXII,N o.

5

HOSTS

Thisspecies

ismoderately

polyphagous,

sofar

asknown,attacking

only

aterpillars.tas

eenearedrom

evenifferent

osts

represented

y

wo

amilies,

he

octuidae

nd

asiocampidae.

The

variegated

cutwormis

undoubtedly

its

principal

host

throughout

most

of

its

range.

t

is

also

ofconsiderable

importance

asaparasite

of

thearmy

worm.

ickery 18 ,

p.

391),

recordsit

as

a

parasite

of

the

twonearlyrelated

pecies,

irpMslatiuscula

H.

andS.

and.mult-

linea

Walk.

n

olorado

t

hasbeeneared

rom

peciesfent

caterpillars,

Malacosoma

californica

Pack

15 ,

p.

70 )

and

M.

fragilis

FIG.

6.Mapshowing

distributionofArchytasanalis.

Large

dots

represent

locality

records.

Circles

represent

state

or

national

records

St.

,

p.174)-

nMississippi

it

hasbeenreared

from

thevariegated

cutwormand

thefall

army

worm.t

has

been

inoculated

upon

and

reared

quite

successfully

uponthe

army

worm,

CirpMs

juncicola,and

the

yellow-striped

armyworm.

hough

he

latter

proved

o

be

an

excellent

host

ornsectarywork,

nans,

trange

o

ay,

hasnever

been

eared

rom

material

of

hispecies

collected

n

he

ield,

ECONOMIC

MPORTANCE

During

he

pringof92 4 ,nMississippi,

his

pecies

was

eared

from

4 .9per

cent

of

he

variegated

cutwormscaptured

during

he

last

hreenstars.

ast-instar

caterpillars

were

most

heavilypara-

sitized,

in

onelot

3 6

per

centbeingdestroyedbvthis

parasite.

Dur-

ing

1925 ,

22

erenterearasitized. These

ercentagesre

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LifeHistoryof

Variegated

Cutworm

Tachina

Fly

33

undoubtedly

somewhat

lessthan

the

totalproportionof

theinfesta-

tiondestroyedbynalis,

or

while

he

arlier

nstars

re

eadily

attacked,ne

last-instar

caterpillars

are

naturally

much

more

liable

to

be

parasitized,inceheyhave

ived

onger

imexposedo

infestation.

rchytas

analis

has

also

been

cited

as

a

natural

control

of

the

variegated

cutworm

inColorado

0 ,

p.

18),

and

Wadley

19,

p.

76)

states

hat

this

pestwas

heavilyparasited

byitin

Kansas

m

915

andin

Iowain919.

hough

it

has

been

mentioned

from

severallocalities

as

a

parasite

of

the

army

worm,no

preciseinforma-

tionisavailableas

to

its

effectiveness

on

thishost.

uring

the

last

tw o

seasons,

attheMississippiAgricultural

andMechanical

College,

with

moderate

numbers

of

army

wormpresent,nalis

parasitism

has

been

negligible.

he

writer

was

surprised

at

obtaining

the

para-

site

from

the

fall

army

worm;

however,

the

record

is

unquestionable,

since

determination

of

the

host

was

checked

by

examination

of

the

pupal

aseafter

he

ly

had

merged.tsccurrence

nheall

army

wormisnotcommon,and

s

a

natural

control

ofthispest

is

notmportant.

It

has

been

eporteds

parasite

fentcater-

Elars,

but

its

true

value

asanaturalcontrolfor

these

pests

has

not

eendetermined.

The

possibilities

for

manipulationof

this

parasite,

for

the

purpose

of

increasing

its

effectiveness,

are

much

greater

than

for

most

tachi-

nids.

t

displays

greatfondness

for

the

nectar

of

certainfoodplants.

Some

f

hese,

ortunately,revaluableegumes,he

cultivation

of

which

would

not

onlyserve

to

induce

beneficial

concentrations

of

theseparasites,

butthey

havean

important

placin

improved

farm-

ing

methods.

elilotusand

the

vetchesare

particularly

favored

by

analis

dults.ertain

ther

plants,

uch

s

Polygonum

penTisyl-

vanicum,

which

grow

in

great

profusion

n

wastelandandattract

great

numbers

of

the

adult

flies

of

this

species,

and

which

are

regarded

as

weeds,

might

often

be

left

standing

with

profit

until

after

the

bloom-

ing

period

is

past.

It

was

found

hat

freeliving

maggots

n

stemsfmelilotus,he

basesfwhichwerewrapped

in

ballf

moistphagnumoss,

were

ble

owithstand

aive-day

rip

by

mail,

ven

m

hot

id-

summer

weather,

oming

hroughwithafairlyhigh

percentage

f

activeiving

maggots.

uch

material

ould

e

eadilybtained,

shippedseveralhundredmiles,

and

colonized.

ree

living

maggots

packed

n

phagnum

moss

did

not,

owever,

espond

favorably

o

retention

in

cold

storage,

none

surviving

a

30-day

exposureto

tem-

peraturevarying

from3 7

to

40 .

The

ase

with

which

his

pecies

caneeared

n

onfinement,

and

nfestation

f

ts

hosts

obtained,ogetherwith

ts

normous

powers

of

reproduction,combinedwiththefact

thatitisan

effective

parasitef

atleast

wo

ig;hly

importantrop

pestswhich

are

not

always

controlledbyartificialmethods,makes

it

a

highly

promising

subject

for

experimentation

in

the

fieldfbiological

control.

SUMMARY

Investigationswere

madeupon

thelifehistory

of

Archytas

analis,

at

heississippi

griculturalnd

Mechanical

ollege

n

924 .

Theparasite

was

foundtobe

oneofthegroup

whichdeposits

maggots

onhe

foliage

frequented

by

the

host. Thesefree

livingmaggots,

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434

ournal

of

Agricultural

Research

o l .

xxxn, NO.

5

which

mayliveonthe

substratum

formanydays,attach

themselves

to

passing

caterpillars,if

they

are

acceptable

hosts,and

bore

through

the

cutculato

a

position

between

itandthe

hypodermallayer,later

passingnto

hebodycavity,

here

hey

persistn

he

hostuntil

its

pupal

tage.

he

puparium

s

ormed

m

he

pupa

of

he

host,

only

one

parasite

ompleting

tsevelopment

n

ach

pupa.

he

timedurationsofhedifferent

tages

diner

widely

withheeason,

the

nstar

ofhe

host

when

nfested,

nd

he

ime

pent

s

a

ree

living

larva.

here

appear

tobeatleast

wo

completeand

everal

partial

broods

each

season.dults

are

preeminentlynectarsuckers,

and

congregate

inswarms

at

the

flowers

of

sweet

clover

and

a

number

oftherommonildndultivatedlants.hey

re

owerful

flyersandheres

omeeason

o

believehat

hey

migrate

ather

freely.

hey

re

resent

rom

arly

pring

o

ate

& ll

nd

re

adapted

o

ctivity

n

wide

extremes

f

weather.

he

parasites

broadlydistributedover

NorthAmerica

and

parts

of

South

America.

It

ismoderately

polyphagous,

attacking

everal

peciesof

Lepidop-

tera.

tsndoubtedly aluablenatural

ontrol

or

hevarie-

gated

cutworm,

nd

s

lsof

omevalue

s

parasite

f

everal

otheraterpillar

pests.

tffers

ore

romise

han

omepecies

as

a

possibility

in

he

field

of

biological

control.

LITERATUREITED

(1 )LDRICH,

.

M.

1905. A

CATALOGUE OF NORTH AMERICAN

DPTERA.

680

p.

City of

Washington.

(2)

1915. RESULTSFWENTY-FIVEEARS'

COLLECTINGNHEACHINID^.

Ann.

Ent.

Soc.

Amer.

8:9-84.

(3)

AER,

W.

1920. DIE

TACHINEN ALS SCHMAROTZER

DER SCHDLICHEN INSEKTEN.

Ztschr.

Angew.

Ent.

6:

85-'246.

(4)

AKER,

.

F.

1895. BIOLOGICAL

NOTES

ON SOME

COLORADO DPTERA. Ent. NeWS

6:

173-174.

(5 )

RIMLEY,

.

.

1922. LIST

OF

THE TACHINIDJE (DPTERA)

OF

NORTH

CAROLINA.

Ent.

News

33:

0-26.

(6)OQUILLETT,.W.

1897.

REVISION

OF THE

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