STYLO PS 



303 



tb- 

 raeus) with a strep- 



dorsal plates of the 



wasp's abdomen being 



removed, a, Projec- 

 tion of P art of the 



parasite; b, line in- 



dicating the position 

 [ * e removed Dorsal 



metamorphosis. They have been observed in several species of 



Homoptera ; and the writer has a large Pentatomid bug of 



the genus Collided, , which bears a female 



Strepslpteron apparently of large size. This 



bug : is abundant and widely distributed in 



Eastern Asia, and it may prove compara- 



tively easy to keep stylopised examples 



under observation. Both v. Siebold and 



Xassonoff think parthenogenesis occurs in 



Strepsiptera, but there appear to be no facts 



to warrant this supposition. Von Siebold 



speaks of the phenomena of Strepsipterous 



reproduction as paedogenesis, or pseudo- 



j i ,, 



paedogenesis, but we must agree with 

 Meiiiert that they cannot be so classed. 



m i ax , T f i 



The males of Strepsiptera live for only a 

 very short time, and are very difficult of 

 observation. According to Hubbard the 

 males of Xenos dash about so rapidly that the eye cannot see 

 them, and they create great agitation amongst the wasps in the 

 colonies of which they are bred. Apparently they are produced in 

 great numbers, and their life consists of only fifteen or twenty 

 minutes of fiery energy. The males of Stylops are not exposed 

 to such dangers as those of Xenos, and apparently live somewhat 

 longer a day or two, and even three days are on record. The 

 individuals of Andrena parasitised by Stylops are apparently 

 greatly affected in their economy and appear earlier in the season 

 than other individuals ; this perhaps may be a reason, coupled 

 with their short lives, for their being comparatively rarely met 

 with by entomologists. 



It is not possible at present to form a valid opinion as to 

 whether Stylopidae are a division of Coleoptera or a separate 

 Order. Von Siebold considered them a distinct Order, and 

 Xassonoff, who has recently discussed the question, is also of that 

 opinion. 



1 Named by Mr. Distant Cnllidea baro ; according to the Brussels catalogue of 

 Hemiptera, Chrysocoris grandis var. baro. 



