EEARINGS AND DISSECTIONS OF TACHINID^. 99 



noted later on, not only remain as last-stage maggots Avithin the 

 chitinized anal skin of the preceding stage, but even transform to 

 puparia therein, inside the caterpillar skin. 



BLEPHARIPA SCUTELLATA Robineau-Desvoidy. 



It was naturally inferred at this stage of the work that the repro- 

 duction of Blepharipa scutellata would be found as simple as that of 

 Parexorwta chelon'm. Such inference was wide of the mark. All 

 efforts to observe oviposition on the part of scutellata or to secure 

 the deposited Qg^ proved futile. The flies mated freely, remaining 

 in copula four or five hours in some cases, but the females, unlike 

 those of chelonUv^ paid no attention to the caterpillars. They even 

 manifested alarm when the caterpillars were placed near them. In 

 several instances they were observed to touch the ovipositor feebly to 

 the surface or edge of the leaves upon which the caterpillars in the 

 trays had been feeding. The supply of scutellata flies was limited, 

 and it was not until this supply was exhausted that the truth dawned 

 upon us. By dissecting dead females we secured the eggs, which were 

 found to be minute and black, with a thin chitinized chorion, and 

 about one-fortietli or one-fiftieth the size of those of Parasetigena 

 segrecjata Kond., although the fly is ordinarily considerably larger 

 than that species. The whole experiment recalled the observations 

 of Sasaki*^ made twenty-two years ago on the Uji parasite {Crosso- 

 cosmla sericaria' Corn.) of the silkworm in Japan. Sasaki's state- 

 ments had been received Avitli considerable incredulity by European 

 students, but no longer seemed so improbable to us in the light of 

 our investigation of scutellata, which, by the way, is extremely closely 

 related to the Uji parasite. Every circumstance in connection with 

 the strange behavior of the fenuiles of -scutellata pointed directly to 

 a habit of leaf-oviposition, the eggs to be swallowed by the cater- 

 pillars and hatched Avithin their alimentary canal. When this con- 

 clusion had been definitely reached, no eggs of scutellata were on hand 

 for experimental purposes. The conclusion had come very slowl}^, 

 and was at first only doubtfully and reluctantly accepted. 



PALES PAVIDA Meigen. 



Soon after this, hoAvever, a similar case was encountered in Pales 

 pavida Meig., a summer-issuing, two-brooded species, the flies of which 

 began to emerge from the early-summer importations of puparia from 

 Europe. The females of pacida acted in exactly the same way as did 

 the females of Blepharipa scutellata. No deposited eggs could be se- 

 cured, but the females w^ere opened as they died and the eggs found 



° Sasaki, C. — On the Life History of Ugimya sericaria Rondani. Jonrn. 

 Coll. Sci. Imi). Uuiv. Japan, Vol. I, pp. 1-39, Pis. I-VI. Tokyo, 1887. 



54070— No. 12—08 2 



