196 Dr. D. Sharp on some 



ovarian passages of the mother, and, on looking at our 

 figures, it must appear a mystery how such a structure 

 as is there represented can facihtate the entry of one or 

 more spermatozoa to the egg, while the structure is 

 passing through the maternal oviduct. 



Leuckart, who is almost our sole source of informa- 

 tion as to structures of this nature, has figured, in a 

 rough manner, a number of eggs of bugs, I. c, pi. viii., 

 ff. 1 — 26. These exhibit a great variety of structures 

 at the upper pole of the egg, but only one at all re- 

 sembles our Amazonian egg in the mechanical arrange- 

 ment of the apparatus ; the resemblance, however, so far 

 as one can judge, is but a distant one. The egg in 

 question (f. 16, pi. viii.) is that of Phi/tocoris viricUs. 



Leuckart has not, however, given such an account of 

 the intimate structure of the egg as would allow any 

 valuable opinion to be formed as to the functions of the 

 part he roughly figures, and he remained himself in 

 doubt on this point, as will be seen by a passage on 

 p. 149, t. c, where he says : — "I do not know how to 

 give any satisfactory conclusion as to the meaning of 

 this wonderful apparatus : that its object should be to 

 open (or unfold) the cover seems scarcely credible ; one 

 would, indeed, much rather suppose that it served as a 

 support to the cover, especially as this latter is only 

 very loosely inserted. Meanwhile, it remains doubtful 

 whether the sole function of this structure consists in 

 this." 



A brief account of the structure of the capsule and its 

 contents, in the case of the Amazonian Keduviid, is 

 therefore desirable ; but there is considerable difiiculty 

 attending the examination of these eggs after they have 

 been long dried, and covered as they are externally by a 

 gummy matter. The form of the capsule will be per- 

 ceived by reference to the section shown in fig. 4 ; the 

 wall of the capsule (fig. 4 c and fig. 8^) is a piece of lace- 

 work, the meshes of which are completely filled up by 

 some other substance, reminding one of what exists 

 in dried leaves or husks of some seeds. The walls of 

 this cai)sule are aj^parently impervious, and the only 

 means of entrance to the interior of the capsule is b}^ the 

 dependent tubule at the summit. 



The *'cone" in the interior of the capsule is shown in 

 section in fig. 5 ; it apparently consists of a series of 



