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JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 



[Vol. 4 



for a number of hours within the pecuHar "external uterus" formed 

 by the ovipositor (Fig. 9, e). 



After being released by the ovipositor, the eggs are dropped, one 

 at a time, to the ground from wherever the female may be. In this 

 way the eggs are scattered upon the ground below the natural food 

 plant and here they remain over winter. Riley (63, 73 and 74) gives 

 an interesting account of the egg-laying in Diapheromera femorata, 

 an insect which may, at times, become exceedingly abundant and 

 very injurious. He writes, "The eggs are simply dropped loosely 



Pig. 9. The posterior end of the abdomen of a female Diapheromera femorata, 

 showing an egg held within the "external uterus" formed by the ovipositor; sp, 

 spiracle; e, egg; op, operculum. 



upon the ground from whatever height the female may happen to 

 be, and, during the latter part of the autumn where the insects are 

 common, one hears a constant pattering, not unlike drops of rain, 

 that results from the abundant dropping of these eggs which in places 

 lay so thick among and under dead leaves that they may be scraped 

 up in great quantities." 



Concerning the egg-laying of Bacillus gallicus, Dominique (21 

 and 25) emphasizes the fact that "jamais nous n'avons en a enregistrer 

 une seule ponte diurne." Diapheromera femorata, however, lays its 

 eggs during both day and night. 



