478 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vol. 3 



and figured in outline. Of this he wrote: "We have spent consider- 

 able time in fruitless search this spring. We have repeatedly dis- 

 sected them from the adult insect and represent one so obtained in 

 figure 1." Evidently only Forbes and Woodworth have hitherto 

 written of the eggs, and neither described the method of oviposition. 

 The extreme difficulty of keeping the insect alive in confinement 

 makes it no easy task. These remarks aptly sum up the difficulties 

 of investigating the life history of so small and active an insect. 



The egg was first found April 19, having been deposited by a female 

 on kale, and sHghtly inserted on the upperside of the leaf. The same 

 day several adults of both sexes were found among the leaves of 

 mullein, which is obviously a favorite spring food plant, since their 

 abundance on this weed has also been recorded by Forbes. From one 

 to half a dozen bugs were found on every plant examined, resting 

 among the leaves. None appeared to be feeding or mating while 

 under observation. In confinement they fed on kale and mullein, 

 but it was not until April 26 that eggs were again obtained, nine in all. 



May 23 the insects were observed in the field on mullein and vol- 

 unteer turnip (Brassica campestris) , and eggs were found in the seed- 

 stalks, stems, and leaves of the latter, scattered about singly and in 

 irregular rows or groups, sometimes three being placed close together. 



The eggs, as was surmised by Woodworth, are inserted by means 

 of the ovipositor and thrust straight into the stems toward the center. 

 When deposited on leaves they are usually inserted in the midribs, 

 but occasionally also on the edges of the leaves. Many have been 

 observed deposited in this way in confinement. Evidently in nature 

 they are deposited chiefly in the stems, less seldom in the midribs, 

 and only occasionally in the leaves. When deposited in the stems 

 the eggs are inserted until flush with the surface, while those deposited 

 in leaves are usually thrust only partially into the tissue of the leaf. 



In case of oviposition on mullein, which is the favorite plant for 

 the purpose in the District of Columbia, the eggs are inserted in the 

 petiole or leaf-stem and in the midrib. They are frequently placed 

 very closely together and in confinement as many as nine were 

 counted on a single leaf an inch long and half as wide. 



A comparison of the stages figured and described by Forbes with 

 material obtained at Washington leads to the conclusion that the 

 second stage was missed; indeed, it is probably this stage that has 

 been more often overlooked than any other by those who have written 

 of the life stages of the Heteroptera. In Woodworth's account the 

 first and second stages are correctly figured, and his third stage is in 

 reality the fourth. In Stedman's article, what he terms a second 

 stage is either the third or fourth, while his fourth stage represents 



