﻿OVIPOSITION OF TAPINOSTOLA CONCOLOR. 257 



following their capture, when one of the insects (the male, as it 

 subsequently turned out) became restless, and commenced 

 " buzzing " up and down the sedge-leaves, the female remaining 

 perfectly quiescent. The male was then removed to a second 

 glass jar supphed with sedge. About 9.30 p.m. the female 

 began to ascend the sedge, creeping quietly about examining the 

 blades, and having finally selected a particular blade as being 

 suitable for her purposes, commenced ovipositing about one and 

 a half inches from the extreme tip, and along the very edge of 

 the leaf. About this time the light became too uncertain for 

 further observation, and on trying to observe further with a 

 lamp, the female commenced " buzzing," so she was left undis- 

 turbed, whilst the male in the second jar was killed. The fol- 

 lowing day, about 8 a.m., the ova which I had seen deposited the 

 previous evening were invisible, the leaf having curled over and 

 completely hidden them from view. The sedge had already 

 dried somewhat, but doubtless the cement provided by the 

 female during oviposition hastened during its setting period the 

 curling of the leaf. 



After being left undisturbed (after a railway journey) for five 

 days, the female still being ahve but much worn, she was 

 removed and the sedges carefully searched for ova. Several 

 batches were found, five in all : two lots (*' B " and " C ") were 

 laid about the middle of a blade, and three ("D," "E," and 

 " F ") about one and a half to two inches from the extreme tip. 

 In batch "B" the ova (sixteen in all), were laid in two rows 

 parallel to and touching each other, and this was also the case 

 with " C," five ova being laid. With respect to " D," the ova 

 (seven) were similarly placed to those in "A," but with "E " 

 and " F " (seven and eleven respectively) one ovum, although 

 in the same straight line as the others, was separated from the 

 main row by an interval of one-eighth of an inch. 



Several of the ova appeared either to have shrunk or to have 

 been distorted by the pressure of the incurling leaf, and this 

 would appear to afford strong presumptive evidence that the 

 cement or gum greatly accelerates the curling tendency of the 

 leaf, since one might reasonably assume that the distortion of 

 the ova occurs soon after this is deposited, i. e., when the enve- 

 lopes of the ova are still delicate and flexible. 



The double row of ova at the middle of the leaf " B " {i. e., 

 where the breadth is about four times that of the leaf one and 

 a half inches from the extreme tip) is significant. 



With reference to "E" and "F" it would appear possible 

 that the female inserted her ovipositor into the blade when it 

 was already somewhat curled, and after laying one egg for 

 purposes of taking bearings at, so to speak, the limit, withdrew 

 the ovipositor an eighth of an inch before laying the remainder. 



The weather the evening the insects were taken was very 



