124 MR. A. T. JANSE 



of pupation. That the Cape species has parasites need 

 n(»t 8111 prise iis, since the larvae live for some time outside 

 tlio seed, but it is more peculiar that many of my 

 s])eeimeus, that I liave every reason to believe to have 

 lived nearly, if not all, their time inside the fruit, had 

 Hymenopterous parasites, that bored their way through 

 the thick shell in quite a dilTerent manner to that of the 

 moth. I tliink that these Ichneumons bring their eggs 

 int(» the larvae by boring witli their ovipositor into the 

 shell in such a way tliat the opening is afterwards in- 

 visible. 



It was not so mucli /r//.// the larva jumped so frequently 

 but how they could perform this feat which required 

 such a large amount of muscular ])ower, that puzzled me 

 most. I partly opjened several and observed it carefully, 

 in tlie act of jumping, and I feel sure tliat tlie larva firs<" 

 contracts itself, then suddenly stretches itself as Juuch 

 as space allows so as to throw, as it were, the two ends 

 of its body against those walls of the bean that are up- 

 Avards, at the same time raising itself, and this I think 

 forces tlie '' bean '' up for sometimes the heiglit of an 

 incli. Mr. Lucas made very careful observations on the 

 Mexican bean, however, and comes to somewhat different 

 conclusions. In order to observ^e the larva well, he took 

 one of the tlat walls away and placed a small ]>iece of 

 mica in its place. He then found that the larva climbs 

 on to the highest wall, stretches itself till the ends of its 

 body are at the corner of the bean then it contiacts its 

 body so that the larva begins to swell, then the body 

 stretches suddenly in the direction of the upper part of 

 the bean and this causes the bean to move in one direc- 

 ti(.»n. 



1 would not like to decide which of'^tlic two is the nu)st 

 ])r(»bable explanation; i>erhai>s there aie even several 

 lueans of ju-oducing the same iliing: the uiicanny move- 

 what is ai>j)ai'ently but a seed. 



