The Fotje-lined Leaf-Bug. 



231 



for neai'ly a century, its true life history can now be recorded for the 

 first time. 



Its first appearance in the spring. — The first indications of the 

 appearance of the insect on the currants in the Horticultural garden 

 this year was about May 27 * At thnt lime many minute vermilion 

 red creatures (Fig 4) were seen at work on the tenderest leaves of the 

 new growth. It was at once suspected that these little nymphs were 

 an early stage of the pest which had done so much damage the year 



Fig. 6— Nymph after second moult; third stage. 



before. The eggs from which they hatched were soon discovered; and 

 a detailed study of the habits and transformation of the nymphs, 

 from the time they left the ^^'S^ until they reached the adult stage was 

 begun. 



Detailed account of the different stages.-- Several of the recently 

 hatched nymphs were isolated in cages in the insectary and their devel- 

 ment watched. It was found that they 

 moulted (or cast off their old skins for new 

 elastic ones which formed underneath the 

 old) five times, or passed through five 

 nymphal stages before the adult stage was 

 reached. Figures 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 represent 

 the insect on its first, second, third, fourth 

 and fifth nymphal stages respectively as 

 seen from above. All of the figures are, 

 of course, much magnified as is shown by 

 the hair line on the right of each which 

 represents its natural length. But as all of 

 the figures were drawn through a camera lucida to the same scale they 



Fig. 7.— Nymph after third moult; 

 fourth stage. 



*The first appearance of the pest in the spring has not been before recorded. 

 But from the fact that adults have been seen as early as June 2 in Ohio, 

 the nymphs must appear a week or ten days earlier in some years. Mr. Web- 

 ster says he used adults of this species in his experiments in Indiana on May 

 22. It seems as though there must be some mistake here, or else spring opened 

 much earUer than usual so that the first nymphs appeared about May 4. 



