1 88 Journal of Agricultural Research voi.xv, no. 3 



MATING 



The preliminary steps in mating have not been observed, but in a 

 number of cases males and females in copulation have been kept under 

 observation for several hours. The usual position is for the male to be 

 at the right side of the female with the legs of the left side clasping her 

 body, the forelegs crossing the forward part of the body and the others 

 disposed across the thorax and base of the elytra. The right legs remain 

 free and may be used slightly in clinging to adjacent objects, but the 

 female alone may cling to the grass head or stem. The tarsi of the left 

 legs of the male are held against the margin of the female's body and 

 apparently kept in one position for the entire period of mating. The 

 abdomen of the male is bent under the female with its dorsal face up- 

 permost and the genital organs inserted at the base of the ovipositor. 



In one instance a pair taken on July 10 about 7.40 a. m. and carried 

 on the grass stem for about a mile remained in copulation until 9.40 

 in spite of considerable handling. After separation they showed no in- 

 clination to subsequent mating. The male died on the third day follow- 

 ing, and the female began ovipositing in about 24 hours after mating, 

 certainly then and possibly earlier. Other observations confirm the view 

 that mating lasts for several hours, and no evidence has been found that 

 either males or females mate more than once. 



Considering the tenacity of their hold and the tendency to cling closely 

 to the grass while mating, it is possible that methods for capturing them 

 might be more effective at this period. It is quite possible that they 

 might be carried with hay at this time more easily than otherwise, and 

 if scattered in favorable situations serve to provide for wider dispersal 



EGG DEPOSITION 



The process of egg deposition is interesting and has been watched re- 

 peatedly with females confined in glass tubes, but it has not been ob- 

 ser\^ed directly in the field. The females in the field evidently succeed 

 in keeping out of sight or perform their egg laying with such rapidity 

 that there is little chance of finding them at work. It was only after 

 watching them in confinement and learning how the eggs were laid that 

 we succeeded in discovering the eggs in stems in the field where the 

 insects had been abundant. 



When about to oviposit, the female seeks a suitable place on the stem, 

 more frequently with the head upward, but often in the reverse position, 

 and explores the stem carefully with the beak. She appears to make a 

 slight puncture with the beak then draws the abdomen at a sharp cur\^e 

 up under the thorax and places the tip of the ovipositor on the spot 

 where the beak has rested. The ovipositor is withdrawn from its sheath 

 and stands at nearly right angles to the genital segment and the insect 

 with all legs clasping the stem and evidently strained very tensely begins 



