42 Journal New York Entomological Society. lvoI. xviii. 



one nymph attack a very hairy young caterpillar, but the hairs were 

 too long or the beak too short and after a prolonged effort the bug 

 abandoned the attack. I have not observed this bug eating vegetable 

 food while mature or in the last instar; in younger stages, however, 

 I have seen it with its beak in the green stems of evening primrose 

 (Onagra biennis) and moth mullein and in the leaves of other plants. 

 One nymph remained four minutes with its beak in a freshly cut 

 stem of evening primrose. 



I had an opportunity to observe a pair of Podisiis maciiUventris 

 courting and copulating. The male started off by walking right over 

 to the female. He showed signs of great affection by rubbing his 

 head against her body several times. Then he strode diagonally 

 across her and began to caress her from the other side. After a 

 short time he turned towards her posterior end and lifted her abdo- 

 men up by pushing his head under it. Both insects then remained 

 in this position for a short time, the male continually knocking his 

 head up against the female's abdomen and lifting her higher and 

 higher. During this performance the male's penis was protruded 

 and he gave signs of great excitement by expanding and contract- 

 ing his body and turning almost completely around. When this 

 excitement was at its height, he crawled out to one side, and still 

 keeping part of his body under the female, till he was far enough 

 out to turn sidewise, he inserted his organ in her vagina. The lock 

 was complete and he then turned completely downward so that the 

 two insects were end to end. The male then played his legs on the 

 female's dorsum like a pair of drumsticks. This performance oc- 

 curred at very frequent intervals in the beginning, then every minute 

 or so, but gradually the movements ceased or were repeated only 

 now and then. The pair remained in copula all night on the very 

 same spot. 



