518 Mr. C. L. Witliycombe's Notes on 



for the everted vagina of the female, but he certainly 

 would not have made this mistake had he seen its possessor 

 later devouring it, as often happens. 



The spermatophore is about 4 mm. long, white in colour, 

 but yellowish in the centre. It consists of four rounded 

 lobes and a short attaching stem. Within a few minutes 

 of parting from the male, the female bends her head under 

 the body and commences to devour the nearest lobe of the 

 spermatophore. When this lobe has been devoured, her 

 appetite is for a time satiated, but if not, the male usually 

 interferes and caresses her. Then he waits and watches 

 for an hour or more, and generally the spermatophore is 

 not further mutilated in that time. When finally the 

 female walks away, the spermatophore constantly impedes 

 her progress, and it either hitches in some object and is 

 pulled away, or is completely devoured, or may remain 

 dried up and still attached for a day or so. Generally no 

 sign of it is visible the morning after. 



A female may pair two or three times during life, but 

 once is sufficient for all the eggs laid to be fertile. About 

 thirty eggs were laid by each female. Food taken as 

 imagines was jam, aphids, etc. They will also often devour 

 one another when no other food is provided. 



The internal anatomy does not materially differ from 

 that of other Neuroptera. In the larva, the salivary 

 secretion is undoubtedly more poisonous and rapid in its 

 action than in any other species observed. The greater 

 part of the oesophagus and stomach in early larval life 

 contains, mixed with the fluid food, a large number of air 

 bubbles. These are small and of fairly uniform size. I 

 imagine they are mainly of use in decreasing the specific 

 gravity of the larva, but the possibility of respiration by 

 this means should not be overlooked. If a young larva is 

 watched while walking in water which just covers the 

 back, it will be seen to halt once or twice and thrust its 

 sucking spears up through the surface film for a second or 

 two. This I believe it does to draw air into the gut, and, 

 seeing that the spiracles cannot function under water, 

 possibly the action is respiratory. Personally I regard 

 these bubbles of air in the gut as a reserve supply for use 

 when the larva is submerged, since tracheal gills, similar to 

 those of Sisyra, are absent. 



There are eight colourless Malpighian tubes, six of which 

 function in the greater part of their posterior two-thirds as 



