182 



any other larva', as I fouud to my cost in the case of jars coiitaining 

 several Clirysopa larvir. 



The larval life covered about two weeks in confinement, and with 

 limited food supply; but from the rapidity of the growth when supplied 

 with abundance of food I think under very favorable conditions the 

 period would not much exceed one week. The adult larva attains a 

 length of nearly three-eighths of an inch and is more robust than the 

 newly-hatched larva. In general structure there is very little change, 

 except that the hairy vestiture becomes less prominent. In color the 

 adult larva is brownish purple, darker along the dorsal margin, and 

 with the lateral projecting angles of segments yellowish white. The 

 venter is greenish hyaline centrally including the basal joints of the 

 legs. The femora and tibia and feet are resinous, inclined to brownish. 

 The head is marked dorsally with two slightly divaricating black 

 bands, and with a purplish band extending backward onto the first 

 thoracic segment from the black eye spot. The foot consists of 2 small 

 curved claws and a rather long, projecting finger, with disk to enable 

 the larva to better adhere to the smooth foliage. The tip of the abdo- 

 men has a retractile quadrituberculate process which is used as a sort 

 of anal proleg in running or bracing itself. The larva, when full grown, 

 spins up in the curl of a leaf or in any partial protection, constructing a 

 delicate, slightly oval, but nearly spherical, silken cocoon, which is 

 attached to the leaf by silken threads. This cocoon is very small in com- 

 parison both with the larva which spins it and the adult which emerges 

 from it, and is less than one-eighth of an inch in longest diameter. 

 The adult emerges in from ten to fourteen days cutting off the upper 

 end of the cocoon in a neat cap. The fly is pea-green in color with, iu 

 life, bronzy eyes with greenish reflections. The characteristic mark- 

 ings of the species are the black second joint of the antennae, a black 

 ring around the antennal sockets, a broad black line below the e>e, 

 4 black spots on top of the head and 3 similiar spots on either side 

 of the first segment of the thorax. The transparent, gauzy, green- 

 ish, iridescent wings are very broad and long and very finely 

 netted or veined in a very neat pattern, the normal greenish-yellow 

 color of the veins being varied with dusky crossbars. The adult 

 is a very helpless insect, does not feed at all, and remains con- 

 cealed in low grass during the day, becoming more active in the 

 evening and depositing its eggs, so far as observed, only at this time, 

 though perhaps also during the night. Its sole reason for existing is 

 to deposit eggs, and having accomplished this it dies. It is a very 

 fragile insect and can not be handled without being crushed, but is 

 withal rather active and difficult to catch. When taken it emits a most 

 disgusting and disagreeable odor, which seems to be its chief means of 

 protection from enemies. While the species Chrysopa ocuJata referred 

 to above was the common one in the orchard in question, another 

 species also occurred there, and perhaps also still others. The differ- 



