481 



loosrlv. Bruclui-^ proxopls oviposits in the pod while on the 

 ii'ce or after it has faUeii l<» thi' i^i-oiind and ihc' hirva on 

 hatehiiiu bores its wav throtti>,h the woody eiivcdope and into 

 the seech Tpoii reaehiiig full i>Towlh it has consmued I he eon- 

 tents of the seed and has orown so hu'a,'e, ordinarily, as to make 

 the seed loo small for a eomforlaMe ])Upal ehandier. ll then 

 e;ils iis way thron,i;h a hole in the seedcoat, gnaws away a part 

 of the woody eiiveloix', marks ont a eirelo there almost ent 

 awav so as to ])ermit the emerging adtdt to foree its way out 

 of the i)od easily, and attaches the seed coat and the debris to 

 the envelop to form a pnpal elunnber. It is at this time that 

 the Ilcicroapilus ovipwsits in the pod and by this time in the 

 moister ])arts of Ihmolnln the pod lying on the gronnd has been 

 wet by the rain, the syrti])y tinid and pithy substanee have fer- 

 mented and disa])peared. and the thickness intervening be- 

 tween the larva and the onter windd has been nnlnced to no 

 more than a sixteenth of an inch, which permits oviposition. 

 Where there is less rainfall the fermentation may not take 

 l)laee and this does not interfere in tlie least with the emer- 

 gence of the l)rnchns but I have not as yet fonnd the Ilcfevo- 

 sjiihis breeding in snch places. The thin mend)ranons pods 

 and thin seed coat of Dolirlios and the seed coat of Lucaenn 

 thinned for the emergence of the adnlt present no particnlar 

 mechanical obstacles to oviposition. 



The ]iosition assnmed by the female in oviposition is with 

 the legs widely separated and the abdomen slightly bent down. 

 The sheaths of the ovipositor are nsed to stiffen and gnide the 

 ovipositor during the act of penetrating the pod or seed, and 

 during the act of oviposition and while removing the ovipositor 

 ai'e moved slowly u]i and down. The sheath bases and oviposi- 

 tor base are rather widely separated and while the ovipositor 

 is inserted the thicker terminal parts of the sheaths grasp the 

 ovii)ositor longitudinally and the slender basal portion of the 

 sheaths are sliar])ly l)ent to form a sort of support for it. I 

 have been miable to distinguish the actual passage of the egg 

 along the ovi})ositor or to observe an actual stinging of the 



