Feb. is. 1921 Leconte's Sawfly, an Enemy of Young Pines 755 



Rohwer ' gives the following description : 



Copulation lasts about 100 seconds and is accomplished by the two individuals 

 facing in opposite directions and the extreme end of the male abdomen being bent 

 at an obtuse angle because of the truncate abdomen of the female. The hypopygidium 

 of the male fits over the knob at the base of the sheath, the harpes grasp the sides 

 of the knob in the manner of a ball and socket joint, while the position occupied by 

 the parapenes, sagittae, volsellae, and penis valves, was not observed. 



OVIPOSITION STUDIES 2 



After locating a suitable place for ovipositing, the female stands with 

 her legs grasping the needle, her abdomen bent ventrally so that its apex 

 comes in contact with the needle at a point between the mesothoracic 

 and meta thoracic tarsi. She seems to start the incision with the lance as 

 well as the lancets by pulling or sliding these away from her along the 



^n 



Fig. 2. — Position of end of abdomen of female when ovipositing, show- 

 ing the various parts and their position: i, lance; 2, apical part of 

 sheath; 3, basal part of sheath; 4, nates or ninth tergite; 5, eighth 

 sternite; 6, chitinized rods at base of lancet; 7, lancet. 



needle in a fashion suggesting an attempt to catch a sharp point or tearing 

 edge in the tissue. After starting the incision she withdraws the lance 

 slightly and appears to use it to guide the lancets and to keep the 

 latter pressed against the front of the cut (fig. 2). After the insertion 

 of the lance and the lancets the female straightens or raises the ventrally 

 bent end of her abdomen, causing the ovipositor to form an abrupt angle 

 with it. 



The chitinized basal rods of the lancets run along the chitinized ventral 

 side of the lance and turn into the abdomen towards the ninth tergite 

 Their up and down motion seems to be controlled by a somewhat side to 

 side movement of the nates, or ninth tergite. The lancets work opposite 

 each other except at withdrawal, when they are worked together up and 

 down arid back, following the lance through the arc of the cut they have 



1 Rohwer, S. A. the mating habits of some sawfues. In Proc. Ent. Soc. Wash., v. 17, no. 4, 

 p. 195-198, fig. 1, pi. 22. 1915. 



Page 196: Diprion lecontei. 



2 Terminology used here is that adopted in a recent paper (still in proof) by S. A. Rohwer. 



