﻿122 
  

  

  lua 
  Valley, 
  at 
  about 
  200 
  feet 
  elevation, 
  January 
  14, 
  1907. 
  A 
  

   large 
  number 
  of 
  small 
  pupae 
  was 
  in 
  a 
  mass 
  together 
  with 
  the 
  

   remains 
  of 
  some 
  larva 
  upon 
  which 
  thej 
  had 
  fed 
  as 
  parasites. 
  

   There 
  was 
  no 
  means 
  of 
  determining 
  what 
  this 
  host 
  larva 
  was 
  ; 
  

   but 
  it 
  was 
  supposed 
  to 
  be 
  either 
  an 
  Odynerus 
  or 
  a 
  Pison 
  larva, 
  

   as 
  there 
  were 
  Pison 
  cocoons 
  and 
  remains 
  of 
  Odynerus 
  nests 
  

   in 
  the 
  pieces 
  of 
  rotten 
  wood 
  (Breadfruit 
  tree) 
  in 
  which 
  this 
  

   mass 
  of 
  parasitic 
  pupae 
  was 
  found. 
  There 
  were 
  also 
  cocoons 
  

   of 
  what 
  appeared 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  Megachile; 
  also 
  a 
  beetle 
  krva 
  which 
  

   on 
  rearing 
  proved 
  to 
  be 
  Ceresium 
  simplex^ 
  and 
  also 
  among 
  the 
  

   numerous 
  burrows 
  was 
  "frass" 
  of 
  some 
  wood-boring 
  Tineid 
  

   larva, 
  all 
  of 
  which 
  made 
  it 
  the 
  more 
  difficult 
  to 
  determine 
  the 
  

   true 
  host 
  with 
  certainty. 
  

  

  The 
  following 
  week 
  these 
  pupae 
  transformed 
  to 
  the 
  adult 
  

   parasites.* 
  They 
  were 
  nearly 
  all 
  females, 
  but 
  one 
  male 
  was 
  

   observed. 
  After 
  remaining 
  together 
  in 
  a 
  tube 
  for 
  a 
  few 
  days 
  

   after 
  maturing, 
  12 
  females 
  were 
  removed 
  to 
  a 
  tube 
  containing 
  

   several 
  larvae 
  of 
  the 
  mud-dauber 
  wasp 
  (Sceliphron 
  caemen- 
  

   tarius) 
  ; 
  several 
  larvae 
  of 
  this 
  wasp 
  were 
  also 
  put 
  in 
  the 
  tube 
  

   with 
  the 
  remaining 
  parasites. 
  Many 
  females 
  were 
  observed 
  

   in 
  the 
  act 
  of 
  ovipositing 
  in 
  these 
  larvae. 
  In 
  a 
  week's 
  time, 
  

   small 
  larvae 
  of 
  the 
  parasite 
  were 
  observed 
  very 
  numerous 
  feed- 
  

   ing 
  externally 
  on 
  the 
  larvae 
  of 
  the 
  wasp, 
  and 
  in 
  about 
  another 
  

   week 
  they 
  entirely 
  consumed 
  their 
  hosts 
  and 
  began 
  to 
  

   pupate. 
  The 
  first 
  ones 
  matured 
  in 
  21 
  days 
  from 
  the 
  

   time 
  eggs 
  were 
  first 
  laid. 
  A 
  count 
  made 
  of 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  

   parasites 
  per 
  host 
  gave 
  448 
  for 
  one 
  (of 
  which 
  only 
  8 
  were 
  

   males), 
  and 
  324 
  for 
  another. 
  In 
  one 
  instance 
  a 
  larva 
  within 
  

   a 
  cocoon 
  was 
  parasitized. 
  No 
  opening 
  could 
  be 
  found 
  by 
  which 
  

   an 
  adult 
  parasite 
  could 
  have 
  entered. 
  The 
  eggs 
  must 
  have 
  been 
  

   laid 
  by 
  piercing 
  the 
  cocoon 
  with 
  the 
  ovipositor, 
  in 
  which 
  case 
  

   perhaps 
  the 
  eggs 
  were 
  not 
  deposited 
  within 
  the 
  host, 
  but 
  on 
  

   the 
  outside 
  where 
  they 
  normally 
  feed 
  after 
  hatching. 
  Perhaps 
  

   this 
  would 
  be 
  the 
  normal 
  method 
  of 
  laying 
  eggs. 
  

  

  After 
  starting 
  the 
  above 
  experiments 
  in 
  breeding 
  this 
  para- 
  

   site, 
  some 
  larvae 
  of 
  Odynerus 
  nigripenms 
  and 
  Pison 
  hospes 
  

   were 
  obtained, 
  and 
  parasites 
  admitted 
  to 
  them. 
  They 
  bred 
  

   upon 
  these 
  the 
  same 
  as 
  upon 
  the 
  former 
  host. 
  In 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  

   the 
  pison 
  larvae, 
  one 
  without 
  a 
  cocoon 
  remained 
  unparasitized, 
  

   while 
  two 
  within 
  cocoons 
  were 
  parasitized. 
  

  

  * 
  Being 
  referred 
  to 
  Dr. 
  Perkins 
  for 
  identification 
  he 
  has 
  described 
  it 
  as 
  

   a 
  new 
  species. 
  

  

  