98 Rev. Air. KiRB'v'i Continue! ion of the 



ticed twelve at one time depofiting their eggs in the fame ear. It 

 is remarkable that amongft the myriads that I have feen of the 

 female, I fhould not have obferved one which I could take for the 

 male : indeed, towards the latter end of the month, (2,4th,) I took 

 two or three fpecimens, which, except that they had black bodies 

 and were fmaller, appeared exaftly fimilar to our Ttpula; but as 

 neither their antennas are hairy, nor their wings fpotted, as was the- 

 cafe with the fpecimen you received from Mr. Markwick, they can 

 fcarcely be the male. Indeed the appearance of the male, inOead of 

 being later than that of the female, ought to be as early or earlier, 

 in order that they may be in readiiiefs to perform the work of im- 

 pregnation previous to the feafon in which the females lay their 

 eggs, which begins, at leaft it did this year, with the month of June. 

 Hence I fuppofe that each fex is difclofed from the pupa in the ge- 

 nial month of May, when, to ufe the poetical language of Scopoli 

 upon another occafion, " nuplias injlituunt, de loco in locum continuo vo- 

 litanics, zephyro plaudente chareis (d)." 



Although thefe infects are fo numerous in the evening, yet in 

 the morning not a fingle one is to be feen upon the wing : they do 

 not however then quit the field which is the fcene of their employ- 

 ment ; for, upon fhaking the ftalks of the wheat, or otherwife dif- 

 turbing them, they will fly about near the ground in great num- 

 bers. I found their flation of repofe to be upon the lower part of 

 the culm, with their heads upwards. 



It is very entertaining to obfervc the method to which thefe in- 

 fers have recourfe in order to depofit their eggs in a fituation where 

 the larvae may foon arrive at their food : when engaged in this em- 

 ployment they are not foon difturbed; which circumftance affords 

 the obferver an excellent opportunity of examination. As I hinted 



(J) Eiil. Caniiol, n. 8oi, ubi de Ape fakilosd. 



before,. 



