1916] Biology of Paraphelimis Speciosissimus Girault 101 



There is a pair of short tubercles on the ventral region of the 

 prothorax and these are evidently vestigial prothoracic legs. 

 No spiracles have been observed, but they probably do not open 

 up until just before pupation. The body is devoid of hairs. 

 The alimentary canal is a large sac closed behind and filled with 

 yellowish material. There is a posterior anal notch but the 

 proctodaeum apparently lacks a lumen. A pair of salivary 

 glands may be seen starting back from a common duct orig- 

 inating ventral to the mouth cavity. While alive the larvae 

 exhibit a rhythmic opening and closing of the mouth, but the 

 mandibles are not moved while this is in progress, and periodic 

 swallowing movements occur. 



In full grown larv£e the body is somewhat shorter and broader 

 and the processes on the head slightly less conspicuous. Larvae 

 at this stage are about 1 mm. long and 0.3 mm. wide. 



Pupation takes place inside the skin of the host. The latter 

 is rounded out into a more or less elliptical cell and becomes 

 dry and light brown in color. The larvae have a strong ten- 

 dency to arrange themselves before pupation with their heads 

 diercted toward the center of this cell, and in this cell just prior 

 to pupation they void their excrement, which consists of numer- 

 ous dark reddish brown disks. 



PUPA. 



The pupa when first formed, is white with an elongate orange 

 spot, showing through the middle of the dorsum of the abdomen. 

 The average of four pupae gave a length of 1.063 mm. by 

 0.356 mm. 



LIFE HISTORY. 



Accurate data for the length of the various stages of this 

 parasite have not been secured. However, in one cage where 

 the adults began to oviposit in host puparia on July 29th, larvae 

 almost full-grown in hosts almost entirely consumed were dis- 

 sected out on August 3d, after a period of only five days. This 

 shows that at this season development is very rapid and that 

 the egg and larval stages are very short. In another cage 

 numerous pupae and no larvae were dissected August 4th from 

 host puparia into which parasites began to oviposit July 24th. 

 Adults emerged from these pup« August 13th and 14th, showing 

 that the pupa stage required at least nine days. From these 

 and other cages it was found that complete development from 



