The Ohio ^hi^aturalisty 



PUBLISHED BY 



The Biological Club of the Ohio State Uni'versiiy, 

 Volume IV. NOVEMBER, 1903. No. 1. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



HiNE— On the Life History of Tabanus Vivax 1 



PoiNDEXTEii— The Development of the Spikelet and Grain of Corn 3 



OSBORN— Note on Tinobregmus vittatus Van Ditzee 9 



Griggs— Notes on Interesting oliio AVillows 11 



SCHAFFNER— Poisonous and Other Injurious Plants of Ohio 16 



Kei.lekman— Minor Plant Notes, No. 5 20 



OsBoRN— Note on Aradus ornatus Say 22 



ScHAFFNEii -The Maximiun Height of Plants. V 23 



News and Notes 23 



Griggs— Meeting of the Biological Club 24 



ON THE LIFE HISTORY OF TABANUS VIVAX. 



James S. Hine. 



Eggs. — Deposited in masses composed of several hundreds, on 

 stones that project above the water in riffles. Mass nearly round 

 in outline, onh- slightly convex, composed of about three la3'ers 

 one above the other. Color of the whole ma.ss brown, mottled over 

 the top with whitish. Female observed ovipositing June eighth. 



lyARVA. — In September and October of various years, when the 

 Avater was low, I have taken a number of larvae among stones 

 and rubbish in riffles. Sometimes they are taken in nets used for 

 collecting Corydalis larvae, and like them appear to be at home 

 in the swiftest part of the the stream ; in this respect differing 

 from most tabanid larvae with which I am acquainted. I^arvae 

 taken late in the fall and kept in wet earth and fed on angle- 

 worms or other animal food pass through their transformations 

 and reach the adult stage in late spring or early summer. Since 

 I have never come across these larvae in nature in spring their 

 exact habits at this time of year are not known, but suppose they 

 leave the water and pupate in the earth near at hand. 



General color yellowish white, anterior margin of each thoracic 

 segment and a narrow band including the prolegs on the anterior 

 half of the first seven abdominal segments opaque and appearing 

 darker than the other parts, which are more or less shining and 

 usually finely striate longitudinally. Prothoracic segment divided 

 by longitudinal grooves into four nearly equal parts, which may 

 be called the dorsal, ventral and lateral areas. The lateral areas 

 are shining and finely striated on posterior third and opaque on 

 anterior two thirds : the dorsal and ventral areas are opaque on 

 about anterior fourth and distinctly shining on the remaining 



