Ecological and Behavior Notes 61 



in April I took a water-stridor of this species preying 

 upon a green caterpillar. The caterpillar had evidently 

 fallen into the water from a tree above; the strider had 

 its beak inserted into its victim for more than a half hour 

 before I took it. 



Basahus higuttatus Say. [E. H. Gibson]. Taken among 

 twigs and leaves at Wickes, June 12, 1917. 



Podisus sp. [0. Heideman]. On June 25, 1915, at Cliff 

 Cave, Mo., a n>TQph of this Hemipteron was found prey- 

 ing upon an adult, Beduvius personatus Linn. [0. Heide- 

 man]. It had its proboscis inserted in the ventral side of 

 the victim's abdomen, and held it free in the air. Even 

 when picked up it did not release its grip, but continued 

 for half an hour to drain the life-blood of its prey. It 

 lived in confinement for thirty hours after this feat. 



Melanolestes picipes (?) [H. S. Barber]. Our notes 

 from various times and places contain half a dozen 

 records of having taken this ** kissing bug" in various 

 houses, by the evening lamp. One made known its pres- 

 ence on the back of my neck by inflicting a momentary 

 pain which was so sharp that, in a most unscientific man- 

 ner, I slapped it without even trying to observe its ways. 



Anasa tristis De G. On Aug. 12, 1912, 1 made notes on 

 the clusters of eggs laid by this insect. The great major- 

 ity of them had been deposited on the under or shaded 

 side of the leaf. Out of 58 lots observed, 49 were on the 

 under side of the leaves, 2 were on the top of the leaf, 

 2 were on the stem and 5 were on the board fence nearby. 

 Although most of the groups contain, as Howard says, 

 from 20 to 40 eggs, we found many batches comprising 

 fewer. On September 30, a large number of adults were 

 found under the loose bark of a dead tree where they 

 were probably preparing for liibernation. 



Podisus {Apeteticus) maculiventris Say. [0. Heide- 

 man]. At 5:30 one August afternoon this Hemipteron 

 was observed holding by its legs to the fluffy flower of 

 the white snake-root, while it held far out in the air, on 



