﻿The Life History of Two Species of Nabidae 157 



patches along sides of abdomen below lateral edges; ovipositor of 

 female in process of formation ; mesothoracic femora becoming 

 barred and tibia quite heavily spotted; beginning of suture out- 

 lining inner edge of clavus; distal segment of tarsi beginning to 

 divide into two parts. 



Habits of Nymphs 



The habits of the young nymphs were quite interesting to 

 observe. As soon as their legs were strong enough to support their 

 weight, they were off on their quest for food. The usual behavior 

 when there was no food in sight was to amble along slowly over 

 the surface of a leaf or stem, prodding at it with the proboscis. 



The predaceous character of the family is revealed very early 

 in the life of the young nymph. One-day-old nymphs were seen 

 attacking aphids twice their size, thrusting the sharp proboscis 

 with great precision into the abdomens of their victims. Some- 

 times the aphid in an attempt to escape would pull the nabid 

 along bodily for a short distance, finally freeing itself. Very sel- 

 dom did all the nymphs placed in one dish reach maturity. It was 

 usually a hard-fought contest, with the most aggressive subduing 

 and eating the others. In feeding, the prey was pierced in various 

 places and the body juices sucked out. Even the coloring-matter 

 of the eyes was extracted and usually when a nymph was through 

 feeding the body of its victim collapsed. The completeness with 

 which this extraction is done is remarkable. 



The nymphs were hearty eaters, especially the younger ones, 

 which fed almost continuously. They were also fond of water, 

 one nj^mph having been observed with its proboscis inserted in a 

 drop of water for four minutes and apparently drinking. When 

 teased with a needle or a straw, they would often accept the chal- 

 lenge to combat. 



The small nabids were also seen frequently cleaning the pro- 

 boscis and antennae. This was accomplished by drawing the struc- 

 tures between the approximated distal ends of the tibia. On close 

 examination, these were found to have a row of spine-like hairs 

 at their outer ends which serve as excellent scrapers or brushes 

 in removing small patches of old moult-skin or other foreign 

 particles. 



Moulting 



A number of nymphs were observed in the process of moulting. 

 This is an interesting phenomenon and takes place as the nymph 

 stands on the upper side, or clings to the lower side of a leaf. 

 Just before moulting as was stated, the nymph is usually sluggish 

 in its actions, the abdomen becoming whitish, probably because 

 of the expulsion of all fa?cal matter. The nymph assumes a 

 position as shown in the drawing in Fig. 16, legs well spread apart, 

 especially the metathoraeic pair which appear braced. The head 

 is bent downward so that the probosis is close to the ventral side 



