—13— 



al\va\s fouiul two eiigs ; i,hc first at the upper extremity, and fastened by 

 some adhesive substance on the egg itself. Back of this egg, a piece of 

 pith seems to be shoved in, to aid in holding it in place, and to hold it 

 from the second egg, which is jtlaced directly behind this, and frequently, 

 but not always, a piece of pith is placed behind the latter also. While it 

 might be too much to say that the invariable number of eggs is two, in 

 each chaml^er, and that there are always two chambers connected with 

 each channel, with a single exception we have found this to be the case. 

 In the exce[>tional case, there was a channel fully twice the ordinary 

 length, and four chambers connected with it ; the second and third, how- 

 ever, being much more distantly placed than the first from the second, or 

 the third from the fourth. Just why si> much method should be followed 

 m this arrangement, it is difficult to understand. Possibly the female ' 

 ma\- comprehend that were she to place herself in a reverse position on 

 the plant, the chambers wc)uld extend downward and a drop of water or 

 dew. on its wav downward on the outside of the stem, might penetrate 

 the latter and destrt)y the eggs, the young larva;, or even the entire plant. 

 As it is, the chamber extends upward, and, besides, the gum, which 

 exudes h-oin the plant, collects in the mass of fibres in the channel, and 

 as this gum hardens it tends to seal the whole entrance. The secret of 

 the number of egg chambers, per each channel, may lie in that the latter 

 is as long as the female can make it without changing her position, as, 

 w'th the weight of the male adtled to her own, moving about would prove 

 too laborious. With two eg,<is in each chamber, there need be no con- 

 flict among the \()ung larvae, as one can work upward and the ottier 

 downward ; the only chance for a conflict here being, that the lower one 

 of the ufiper chamber might come in contact with the uppermost larva.* 

 of the louder chamber. They are certainly not quarrelsome, however, as ' 

 we have taken thirteen full grown larvae from a section o{ Heltanthus 

 onlv about as many inches in length. 



The egg o'i Lixus concavus is oblong-oval, smooth, of a very light 

 yellow color, 1.5 mm. long, and i mm. in diameter. 



As to the time required for these eggs to hatch, after being deposited, 

 I have no exact data, but think Mr. Coquillett's opinion respecting those 

 of L. macer, would apply to concavus also, as my own observations in- 

 dicate that the period covers only a few days. 



In the latitude of LaFayette, Indiana, the eggs are deposited during 

 July and early in August, the larvae becoming full grown by the 20th of 

 October. In the stems of the plant, these larva; are rather contracted, 

 and remain, when quiet, in a somewhat curved position, being then only 

 about 18 mm. in length. 



