ZOOLOGY, ETC. 201 
13 
bia = 
yg 
Fic. 2. a, girdling of twig; Fie. 3. a, bark removed, showing adult just 
b,c, channels of larve. emerging from pupa; 0, adult girdling; 
c, hole through which adult has emerged ; 
d,e, bark removed, showing work of larve. 
an elm the female selects a twig or a smail branch which she at once commences 
to girdle. Thrusting the tips of her mandibles into the woody tissue, she com- 
mences a series of cutting and tearing, prying first with one mandible and then 
with the other till a small shaving or splinter is raised, which she severs with one 
movement of her mandibles. Thus taking section by section on the same cir- 
cumference she in time completely girdles the twig, which will soon fall to the 
ground. It is during the process of cutting that the eggs are laid. After cutting 
one section the female either takes another one or passes up the branch to deposit 
an egg. Upon returning to work she continues to girdle, cutting in the same 
manner as with the first section. After cutting several sections she deposits an- 
other egg or in some instances goes over the work that has been done. 
In depositing an egg, the girdler first makes a hole just below an offshoot or 
an aborted bud of the main stem of the branch to be severed. Within this hole 
she deposits one egg. To protect and to disguise the egg, she caps the hole with 
a gummy substance. The time consumed in depositing the egg, including the 
cutting and sealing of the hole, is from ten to twelve minutes. 
The egg is of a whitish color, of an elongated oval shape, being about four 
