PEEDACEOUS HEjVnPTERA. 393 



P. seriei'entris\]\i\. and 3fenecles insertus (Say). PerUlus 

 circmncinctus Stal. has also, this year, been doubtfully re- 

 corded, in a single instance, as attacking gypsy moth cater- 

 pillars. The following pages present the fticts we have 

 ascertained concerning the haljits of each species, together 

 with the life history of P. serleventris. 



General Habits. — All these species appear to be arboreal 

 in habits, although they are occasionally taken on the ground. 

 Their chosen food in this region seems to be the caterpillars, 

 of the different Lepidoptera, and in the search for them the 

 bugs often climb trees to a great height. The bugs seek 

 out caterpillars in their hiding-places in the rough l^ark, or 

 even follow them to their feeding-places on the foliage, and 

 attack them l)oth during the day and at night. These pre- 

 daceous insects possess a considera1)le degree of activity, 

 most noticeable on warm days, and have also the ability to 

 exist for some time without food, especially in the earlier 

 stages. During the present summer, at the insectary, speci- 

 mens of P. serieventris were found to be alive and fairly 

 active at the end of five days from hatching, without once 

 having taken food. This marked degree of vitality of the 

 young bugs is perhaps not surprising, since from the time 

 of hatching to the time of first feeding, the element of chance 

 enters most strongly into their career, for they may often, 

 of necessity, travel over a large part of a tree before 

 finding food for the first time. These species are found on 

 all parts of the trees, and, while they are more or less gre- 

 garious in the fir.st and second stages, in the later stages 

 they usually feed independently of each other. I have re- 

 peatedly seen the imagoes of P. serieventris fly short dis- 

 tances, which would indicate that this is its ordinary mode 

 of transit from one tree to another. This latter species 

 shows a considerable attraction to light. 



Of the three species mentioned, M. insertus seems to ])e 

 the most local in its distribution in the infested district. 

 In the restricted areas in which it occurs it is fairly al)un- 

 dant, but its limited distrilmtion in the territory infested by 

 the gypsy moth renders it of less importance than P. cijnicus 

 or P. serieventris. The two latter species are very gener- 



