176 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS [Apr., 'l/ 



B. Last joint of antennae much shorter than penultimate, 



Notonccta Linn. 

 B.B. Last joint of antennae longer than the penultimate. 



Buenoa Kirk. 



C. Large species over 6 mm. long B. maryaritacea Bueno 



C.C. Smaller species less than 6 mm. long. 

 D. Eyes large and prominent; shape slender. 



B. platycncmis Fieb. 

 D.D. Eyes large but not prominent shape more convex, 



B. clcgans. Fieb. 



Of these three genera it has long been known that the tiny 

 Pica places its eggs out of harm's way in the stems of the 

 aquatic plants. The observations have been for the European 

 P. mintitissima Leach, but the same is doubtless true in the 

 case of our own Pica striola, for the female possesses the 

 necessary equipment for such a task. 



All American members of the genus Notonecta, at least 

 those that have been observed, attach their eggs by their long 

 axis to stems of plants, submerged brush wood and the like. 

 The egg of N. undulata, our commonest species, is shown in 

 Fig. 7, PL XIII. 



It is a pleasure to report some observations on the oviposi- 

 tion of the female of one species of the genus Buenoa, which 

 is endophytic in this habit. 



After futile attempts to obtain the eggs in the aquarium 

 which, it was supposed, would be deposited on the twigs plac- 

 ed therein for the purpose, an examination of the female's 

 equipment for oviposition disclosed the device shown in Plate 

 XIII, Fig 9. 



With this clue, the pond was visited at once and quite for- 

 tunately the first object examined was literally full of the 

 same sort of ova which had been noted in the bodies of the 

 bugs. It was an uprooted smartweed (Polygonum^ floating 

 in the pool some fifteen feet from shore. Not only were the 

 stems of this green bit of smartweed swollen and distorted* 

 by the many eggs it contained, but the leaves also were em- 



* Stem of smartweed 23 ova crowded in linear space of one centi- 

 meter. 



