185 



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vagina of the leaf. The sentence is all wrong. Hundreds of 

 times, in all varieties of seasons, have I seen the animal de- 

 positing her eggs. She lays them on the upper surface of the 

 li<nila of the leaf of the young wheat plant, and never at- 

 tempts to deposit them at the axilla. The animal, when it 

 leaves the egg, crawls down the leaf, descends within the va- 

 gina of the leaf, stations itself on the culm, generally just above 

 the nearest joint of the stalk, and never moves from its place 

 until the imago appears. Generally, perhaps always, the larva 

 becomes a pupa before winter ; I mean the larva resulting from 

 the egg laid on wheat planted in August, September or Oc- 

 tober. 



Mr. Say was entirely wrong in referring the parasite (I 

 should say the chief parasite, for there are three others besides 

 the egg parasite) to the genus Ceraplwn of Latreille. It is un- 

 doubtedly a Eurytoma of Illiger. The description is tolerable, 

 but may be much improved. 



Page 48. According to my observation, the Eurytoma does 

 not (nor does any other parasite) attack the larva of the Hes- 

 sian Fly. They all wait until the larvse have become pupae. 

 This may not be universal. I see no reason why it should be. 



At page 63, it is stated that the so-called Ceraphron destruc- 

 tor throws off its wings, etc. This is not true. I have kept many 

 of them six weeks without any such results, and never saw any- 

 thing in my intercourse with them which induced me to sus- 

 pect it. But it is certain that many of them are evolved with 

 only rudiments of wings. I have seen them come out of the 

 pupariurn in this state. This apterous animal is so similar to 

 the female that I have considered it the same species ; but I 

 hardly know how to consider it. In the field I have never seen 



i> 



these apterous ones ovipositing or in coitu. Are they neuters ? 

 and if so, for what use ? , 



Page 64, line 17. It is ridiculous to attempt to show the hole 

 made by the parasite in ovipositing, as it is probably less than 

 the ten thousandth part of an inch in diameter. I never 



