Ran — The Biology of Stagmomantis Carolina. 31 



the useless mate for three days without molesting him, 

 and then turn around and attack one which might yet 

 have been of some use ? 



The female was left alone until Sept. 4, when a new 

 male was introduced. The next day he was found dead, 

 with no signs of having been attacked by the female. On 

 Sept. 6 still another was introduced, but no observations 

 could be made until Sept. 10, when no male was found; 

 evidently he also had been devoured. 



The female was left alone and unobserved until Sept. 

 13, w^hen the second egg-case was found to have been 

 very recently deposited. The next day she was dead. 



We learn from this experiment that the female mates 

 many times with one or more males, that two egg-cases 

 may be deposited, and that the duration of adult life 

 was, in this case, 34 days. 



Experiment 2. Aug. 14. The cage contained two 

 adult females and one in the instar just preceding adult- 

 hood. A male was found silently resting on the outside 

 of the cage; he was grasped by the long prothorax and 

 gently ushered inside. But his welcome was not a gra- 

 cious one, for the next morning he, as well as the nymph, 

 had been eaten. Another male was placed with the two 

 remaining females on the afternoon of the 16th. Early 

 the next morning he was found in mating with the gray 

 female; they separated from about noon until 3 o'clock, 

 when they resumed mating until some time in the night. 

 The next day, Aug. 18, the male turned his attentions to 

 the green female, mating w^ith her in the afternoon. The 

 following day all were going about singly until 5 P. M., 

 when the gray female mated for the third time. This 

 gray one mated again on the afternoon of Aug. 21, and 

 the green one for the second time on Aug. 22. On the 

 24th the green female carried the male for some time 

 but actual copulation did not take place until the 28th. 

 At this time the gray was the successful rival, and she 

 concluded this her fifth mating, Avith devouring her mate. 



