STUDIES ON GERM CELLS ey ey 
hyaline masses likewise occur which are considered the equiva- 
lents of the ‘maturation spheres’ in Blatta and homologous to the 
‘Reifungsballen’ of Stuhlmann. No chromatin masses were 
observed in any of these spheres, but in Leptinotarsa the wander- 
ing of part of the chromatin into the yolk, where it disappears, 
is described. As Stuhlmann pointed out, these spheres: may 
appear in different species at different stages in the growth period 
and it seems therefore possible that the ‘Nebenkerne’ of Bloch- 
mann, the ‘Reifungsballen’ of Stuhlmann and the ‘maturation 
spheres’ of Wheeler may be homologous, although the first two 
contain chromatin whereas the ‘maturation spheres’ do not. 
Lameere (’90) was able to confirm Blochmann’s account regard- 
ing the origin of the Nebenkerne in Camponotus and Henneguy 
(04) found them in both the wasp and the honey-bee. In the 
former they appear around the germinal vesicle and disappear 
very early, but in the bee they seem to be derived from follicular 
epithelial cells and persist until a later developmental stage. 
None of these bodies could be found in the oocytes of the honey- 
bee which I have studied. 
Marshall (’07) made a careful study of the secondary nuclei 
in Polistes, but, lke previous investigators, was unable to 
determine definitely regarding their origin and fate. He agrees 
with Blochmann that they probably arise from the germinal 
vesicle by budding, but was unable to find any stages in such a 
process. Concerning their function Marshall was likewise un- 
able to come to a definite conclusion, but suggests that they may 
-act upon the nurse-cell substance making it available for the 
oocyte. 
As described on page 509, the secondary nuclei of Camponotus 
make their appearance at Stage E (fig. 14, H; fig. 27) in the growth 
of the oocyte. From this stage on the size of the primary nucleus 
does not increase but actually decreases and the number of 
secondary nuclei becomes greater as the oocyte enlarges (com- 
pare figs. 28, 31 and 33). At first the oocyte nucleus always 
lies very close to the center of the anterior pole of the oocyte 
and the secondary nuclei form a single layer in contact with the 
opposite wall of the oocyte nucleus (figs. 27, 28, 29), but in later 
