144 Annals Entomological Society of America [Vol. VIII, 
There are five instars and each may be easily recognized. © In 
the first (Fig. 4) the insect is almost white and the dorsum is 
armed with branched spines as in the case of the nymphs of the 
subfamily Ceresint. The beak is very long, reaching almost to 
the tip of the abdomen. In the second instar (Fig. 5) the nymph 
is dark colored, the thoracic spines have almost disappeared, the 
abdominal spines are much shorter and three-branched and the 
beak still very long. The third instar (Fig. 6) shows no thoracic 
spines but a swelling which precedes the pronotal horn, the 
meso- and metathoracic segments are slightly lengthened at 
their lateral margins and the abdominal spines are simple and 
not branched. In the fourth instar (Fig. 7) the pronotal swell- 
ing has become lengthened and porrect and the wing-pads are 
apparent, while the abdomen is marked with dark spots and the 
beak is shorter. The fifth and last instar (Fig. 8) presents a 
greatly developed pronotum which now covers the mesonotum, 
the wing-pads are fully developed and the legs are characteristic- 
ally mottled with brown. 
The time occupied in this process appears to be subject to 
some variation but whether this is due to seasonal or weather 
conditions it has not been possible to determine. It has been 
noticed that the nymphs which appear in the early summer 
require a slightly shorter time between the periods of molting 
than those which emerge in the fall. It has also been observed 
that in some cases the males appear to require a longer time in 
each nymphal stage than do the females. The first molt usually 
occurs about a week after hatching; the second five days later; 
the third instar lasts six days; the fourth instar six days, and the 
last, which is subject to the most variation, from eight to fifteen 
days. Thus the total period from egg to adult is approximately 
one month. 
ECDYSIS. 
The splitting of the integument first appears on the dorsal 
part of the head. It then continues down the median dorsal line 
but seldom extends farther than the sixth abdominal segment. 
The head is released slowly but the thorax quickly follows and 
the integument sometimes breaks around the coxe and femora 
leaving parts of the old skin attached to the legs for some time 
after the ecdysis is completed. In fact, this insect often leaves 
an imperfect exuvia, and forms are commonly found with rem- 
