Vol. XXIX December, 1915. No. 6 



BIOLOGICAL BULLETIN 



OBSERVATIONS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF 

 COPIDOSOMA GELECHI^E. 



J. T. PATTERSON. 



From the Marine Biological Laboratory, and the Zoological Laboratory of the University 



of Texas (Contribution No. 127). 



CONTENTS. 



I. Introduction 333 



II. Note on the Life History of Gnorimoschema 336 



III. Parasites of Gnorimoschema salinaris 340 



IV. Development of Copidosoma gelechiae 341 



1. Polygerm Stages 341 



(a) Youngest Stages 341 



(6) The Nucleated Membrane 343 



(c) Precipitated Material 343 



(d) The Granular Protoplasm and Embryonic Nuclei 343 



(e~) Growth of the Polygerm and Formation of the Primary 



Divisions or Masses 344 



(/) Formation of the Secondary Masses 346 



(g) The Inter-embryonal Substance 346 



2. Dissociation of the Polygermal Mass 347 



3. Pupation, and the Emergence of the Imagines 348 



4. The Abortive Embryos 349 



V. Number and Sex of Copidosoma Parasites found in Gnorimoschema 352 



Summary 358 



Literature 359 



Plates 362 



I. INTRODUCTION. 



The discovery of polyembryonic development among certain 

 of the hymenopterous parasites has opened up an extremely 

 interesting field for investigation. Like most other important 

 biological discoveries, this one was foreshadowed by the obser- 

 vations of several different naturalists. In a paper of this nature 

 it is not necessary to give an extended account of the history of 

 this discovery. We shall therefore be content with a brief 



333 



