22 



tiacli case on cli'v ^i-ound where the saml was louse and easy to 

 (V:g, and on the extrnt of such «:i-oun(! in one place depended the 

 .size of a pai'ticulai' eolon\-. 



The eg'gs are whit;' in coloi". five niillinieters in length and 

 about one-fourth as wide: the form is elongate kidney-shape, and 

 at no time were more than two found developed at the same time 

 in the abdomen of the female. The fact that the larva requires 

 .1 great deal of food makes it impossible for a female to attend 

 very many, and it seems that the number of eggs produced has 

 a relation to the numl)er of larvae that can be taken care of. 

 'ihe egg was not found in place in the burrow, so that mention 

 of some points that it wonld be (h^sirable to know must be 

 omitted. 



The very young larva, not iiinch larger than the egg, was 

 i'lUnd in the burrow with a single horsefly, but it was not evi- 

 <ient whether this Hy had been carried in by the female before 

 «or after the egg hatched. The different stages of the larva are 

 iQUch alike except for si/.e : the color is white, the total lengtli 

 •c.f the full-grown specimen is considerably more than an inch; 

 it is very large on the })Osterioi' half, but narrows in front of the 

 middle, so that it appears as if the small head is situated at 

 the end of a long neck. The enlarged part remains almost sta- 

 tionary M'hen the specimen is feeding, but tlie narrowed part 

 possesses great extensile and retractile powers, enabling the 

 well-developed ntouth ])art,s to come in contact with every part 

 of the fly it is feeding upon. When one locates the larva in its 

 home he finds it surrounded by the remains of the insects that 

 have been placed before it for food, and the one or two fresh 

 specimens which liave just been carried in by the industrious 

 mother; the jaws are continually in motion, and it appears so 

 much taken uj) with feeding that nothing seems to molest it, but 

 specimens do not take kindly to the artificial conditions of the 

 breeding cage. The body is composed of thirteen segments, not 

 ] "eluding the head; th(^ jii-st three behind the head compose 

 the thorax, but no feet ai-e borne by it; the remaining ten make 

 up the abdomen : ten pairs of breathing pores or spiracles are 

 plainly visible in longitudinal rows, one row on either side of tho 

 Jbcdy; all the segments except the third, twelfth and thirteenth 



