1909] GIRAULT AND SANDERS — CHALCIDOID PARASITES 131 
brought out one or two points of interest and importance in its life-history and they 
are considered herewith, together with a number of miscellaneous observations of 
more or less significance. 
In habit, this parasite is stolid and serious, little heeding external influences and 
disturbances, quietly, persistently giving its whole attention to reproduction. This 
habit of the adult female allowed us to breed it with facility; it offers, therefore, an 
excellent subject for the investigation of the biological problems connected with 
the parasitic Hymenoptera. 
Both sexes crawl quite fast, and the female is able to fly, though crawling appears 
to be the favorite mode of locomotion; some males walk habitually with the small 
fore wings extended and directed ventrad, touching the surface upon which the insect 
happens to be walking over, the hind wings extending normally along the back; 
but in the majority of cases, this habit does not occur, the wings in their normal posi- 
tion and then not extending farther caudad than the third abdominal segment. ‘The 
wings of the females are folded flat over the abdomen, normally, and extend slightly 
beyond the abdomen. We have never seen a male in flight, and their wings are 
non-functional apparently. 7 
If violently disturbed with a camel’s hair brush while walking the female 
simply wriggles free of it, but if the disturbance is continued, she may simulate death 
by suddenly falling over on her side or back and drawing in the legs, continuing for 
several seconds. On the other hand, on very slight disturbance, she may hop a 
short distance or assume the same attitude as formerly for several seconds. Appar- 
ently this attitude, which is not really the attitude of death, is never long continued 
and its use to the species is a matter of question. If the females are flung into the 
air from the end of a brush, they readily take to flight. 
At first, we hastily summarize the few special experiments performed with this 
species. 
I. On September 9th, 1908, 50 maggots and 10 puparia of Musca domestica 
Linnaeus were placed in a quantity of clean horse manure in a glass breeding-jar and 
7 females of Nasonia brevicornis were added. "The hosts were free from parasites. 
As a result, reproduction of the parasites occurred and on September 26th, 1908, 6 
males and 10 females of the pteromalid emerged from puparia. The parasite attacks 
Musca domestica in confinement. 
II. On September 12th, 1908, 8 female parasites were confined separately in 
small gelatine capsules, each with a single healthy puparium of Musca domestica. 
Apparent oviposition was observed in each case, but no parasites afterwards appeared ; 
in half the cases the host flies emerged. 
