Dec, '12] PIERCE AND HOLLOWAY; BIOLOGY OF CHELONUS 427 



had a habit of drawing up its legs and feigning death when disturbed, 

 as does the boll weevil and many other insects. The ovipositor is 

 blunt at the apex. It is pressed straight into the egg. An interior 

 process undoubtedly pierces the shell of the egg. 



At the time the notes mentioned were made, the junior author spoke 

 of the matter to several entomological friends, but they were all so 

 reluctant to believe that a Braconid which was approximately half as 

 large as a house fly would oviposit in Heliothis eggs or in any eggs at 

 all that nothing was published on the subject. 



While searching for egg masses of Laphygma frugiperda, which were 

 quite abundant at Dallas on many kinds of trees, the senior author on 

 September 23, 1912, t^ice observed specimens of Chelonus texanus on 

 egg masses, apparently ovipositing. They were very easily removed 

 with the eggs to tubes without in the least disturbing them. The egg 

 masses probably contained about one hundred and fifty eggs each and 

 the parasities were at least as large in bulk as half the mass. They 

 would feel vnth their antennse over the surface of the eggs and then 

 advance and insert the slender ovipositor in an egg, then in less than a 

 minute would withdraw the ovipositor and insert it in the next egg. 

 This process continued for a long time, vnth. many surveys for unpara- 

 sitized eggs. 



The unusual abundance of egg masses which were beginning to 

 hatch on September 23 was preceded a few days before by large flights 

 of moths. Coincident wdth this abundance was the appearance of 

 many adults of Chelonus texanus which were exploring grass and trees, 

 and were often found at the nectaries of cotton, castor-bean and 

 peach. It was therefore a simple matter to collect specimens for 

 isolation with egg masses not too far advanced. This abundance of 

 Chelonus was noticed at the same time in 1911. 



On October 15, just twenty-two days after the large series of egg 

 masses were collected, the first two Chelonus larvae left their hosts, 

 which were but slightly more than one-half inch long, and began to 

 spin their beautiful, thin-meshed white cocoons. 



Fifty-seven broods of Laphygma larvse were under observation sub- 

 sequent to September 23, and from twenty-five of these, Chelonus was 

 bred. The first cocoon was formed October 18, and the others during 

 a period of ten daj's thereafter. From these twenty-five broods, after 

 they had reduced their own numbers by cannibalism, there were only 

 forty surviving worms and fifty-five parasites. In fourteen broods 

 the last surviving worms were parasitized. Records of the period 

 prior to cocoon formation were made on twenty-six parasites with the 

 range twenty-five to thirty-two days and with an average of twenty-six. 

 days. 



