17 



The keeping of thf larva- at ordinary liviii<j- tciiipcratiircR alP. 

 thronj?h the winter months does not seem In liaslcn materially 

 the appearaiiee of the adnlls in the' sprinji. In man\- ti'ials with' 

 diflPereut speeies in l)i-eeding cages I find that ttie tlies issue at. 

 about the time that those matured under natural eonditious are 

 appearing- on tiie wing. Oi' eoui-se under natural eonditious the 

 adults issue continuously over a period of sevei-al days, and in 

 some eases (n-er several weeks, so that a comparison like the one 

 just given may ))e nuich in ei"i-or. for the si»ecimens reared in 

 the cages might have appeared naturally toward the latter part 

 of the noi-mal period of emergence. 



The eggs are placed in masses of varying size on leaves or- 

 slems of sedges and other plants growing in jnarshy or wet 

 ground, l)ut not necessarily overhanging the wat(M'. Single masses ■ 

 may contain as many as 500 eggs, but oftentimes they are muclw 

 smaller. The egg mass is brownish in color ])ermanently, hut 

 when iirst placed is white, and very convex. l)eing composerV 

 of four or five layers of eggs one above the other. Each egg is 

 elongate spindle-shaped, between two and three millimeters in 

 length, and irregularly narrowed at each end. The eggs hatch 

 ill about nine days in all cases so far observed. 



At first the larva^ are about four millimeters in length, as 

 near as the measurement can be taken, sinaller in diameter than 

 ar ordinary pin. and pointed at each end. They are colored 

 nuich like the matui'e larvae, but if anything the black markings 

 0° the body ru-e not so pronounctnl. 



They grow slowly and seem able to pass comparatively long: 

 periods without food, but when food is at hand appear to eat 

 almost all of the timr. When full grown they measure something 

 like fifty millimeters in length and five or six millimeters in 

 diameter. It is difficult from their general ai)pearanee to tell 

 which is the head, for they arc pointed at both ends and the 

 body is not plaiid\ (litTcrcntiated into thora.x and abdomen. All 

 the segments for the whole length of the insect telescope on one 

 another, so that it is difficult to give an exact length oi- diameter. 

 The head end may be located by the direction in which the larva 

 crawls, if in no (ither way. ;iiid the mouth paris will be found 

 to be jx-enliar and very small. The nuindibles consist of two 



