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Abstract: Disorders caused by flies can be most damaging In Delhi, a Sciarid fly was found infecting the mushroom crop late in the season from February onwards The same fly was also observed in Solan from July to August This fly is small 15-35 mm long, black with long thin antennae which are held characteristically erect The mushroom fly found in Delhi and Solan was identified as a species of Bradysia The freshly laid eggs were visible to the naked eye and were round to oval in shape The newly hatched larvae with a distinct black head could be seen with the naked eye After feeding on the mushroom for 2-4 days, it increased in size and became easily visible The colour of the pupa changed from dirty white to pale brown within 2-3 days of pupation The mean larval, pre-pupal and pupal penods were found to be 11 3, 2 5 and 5 3 days respectively at 24°C Adults always emerged in the morning between 6 00 and 9 00 hours and were positively phototactic in the mormng and evemng especially during dim light When copulation occurred, the male fly approached the female from the rear and after intromission, the male turned round and faced in the opposite direction They remained end to end for 4-5 minutes. The larvae entered the stipe in large numbers and started feeding, forming a tunnel within the stipe Eventually they reached the pileus where they fed vigorously on the gills When larval attack occurred at the pin head stages, further development completely stopped and pins eventually died Maximum kill of larvae was obtained by Pinmiphos methyl at 0 075 and 0 05% followed by application of 0 075% of Femtrothion Spraying the cropping room with 0 075% Malathion to kill the adult flies was also found useful.
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