lyO PSYCHE [August 



above described. Now she stands with her ovipositor under the abdomen with the 

 blades slightly imbedded, but gradually as it is worked within the stem she almost 

 imperceptibly moves forward a little at a time. Finally when the ovipositor is 

 buried to its utmost length it is directed backwards. It is now appreciated how 

 well adapted the beautiful curve and structure of the organ are for this purpose. 

 A moment later the blades are spread apart, allowing the elongate egg to be 

 lodged within the center of- the pith, the latter having been pressed to either side 

 for the accommodation of the egg. During this process the female is very quiet, 

 the only noticeable movement being an occasional quiver of the abdomen. As 

 soon as the first egg is deposited, she withdraws the ovipositor and immediately 

 turning around she again bites the same spot, spending several minutes chewing 

 the fibers and pinching the sides together with her powerful jaws. This is done 

 in order to use the same opening to deposit the second egg as about to be 

 described. She next moves a little way down the stem, but this time her head 

 is directed downwards so that she may insert her ovipositor in the same hole 

 but deposit the second egg in a reversed position to that of the first. No sooner 

 is this second egg laid and her ovipositor removed than she turns about and treats 

 the spot for the last time to the same manoeuvring of biting and pressing the 

 sides together as before witnessed. The two eggs thus far laid have their anterior 

 poles directed end to end with a slight distance between them. When the third 

 and fourth eggs are about to be deposited she moves down the stem to a new site 

 about half an inch away, varying the distance, and the process with its several 

 stages is repeated. The interior of the stem is finally filled for a consider- 

 able distance with eggs, about ten minutes being consumed in the deposition of 

 each one. It was during the critical moment when an egg was being deposited 

 that I seized upon the opportunity of photographing the female as shown in the 

 accompanying illustration. She had made nine incisions up to this time and was 

 in the act of laying the eighteenth egg. Some of these incisions are easily seen 

 in the illustration. When the eggs hatch doubtless two young escape from the 

 same scarified point. On removing one side of the stem containing the eggs, in a 

 longitudinal direction, they were found to lie with their corresponding poles nearest 

 together throughout. 



The eggs are slender and beautiful flesh-colored objects when freshly laid ; 

 they are nearly straight, about six mm. long and seven tenths mm. in width. The 

 anterior pole is very slightly tapered, with bluntly rounded apex ; the posterior 

 pole is more distinctly reduced and the apex narrowly rounded. Usually the eggs 

 are skillfully guided to their destined place within the pith, but that they sometimes 

 meet with accident I can attest from observation. Occasionally through defective 

 working of the mechanism, I have noted temporary arrest of oviposition due to 



