﻿22 
  PROCEEDINGS 
  OF 
  THE 
  NATIONAL 
  MUSEUM 
  vol. 
  io3 
  

  

  sternum. 
  A 
  crust 
  of 
  a 
  dried 
  secretion 
  was 
  present, 
  as 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  

   the 
  Falls 
  Church 
  larva. 
  Though 
  a 
  crust 
  may 
  have 
  been 
  associated 
  

   with 
  the 
  Marietta, 
  Ga., 
  material, 
  none 
  was 
  seen. 
  The 
  eggshell 
  and 
  

   first 
  larval 
  exuviae 
  of 
  each 
  of 
  the 
  three 
  larvae 
  occurred 
  immediately 
  

   behind 
  the 
  hind 
  coxa 
  of 
  the 
  cricket. 
  Likewise, 
  the 
  hind 
  leg, 
  of 
  each 
  

   cricket, 
  adjacent 
  to 
  the 
  parasite, 
  was 
  held 
  outward 
  as 
  shown 
  in 
  the 
  

   photographs. 
  

  

  A 
  fourth 
  larva 
  examined 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  several 
  which 
  Dr. 
  Townes 
  has 
  

   told 
  me 
  of 
  finding 
  on 
  Hapithus 
  and 
  Orocharis. 
  Of 
  this 
  particular 
  

   larva 
  he 
  has 
  written, 
  "On 
  September 
  12, 
  1950, 
  1 
  collected 
  (at 
  Fuguay, 
  

   N. 
  C.) 
  a 
  large 
  Orocharis 
  nymph 
  with 
  a 
  one-third 
  grown 
  larva 
  on 
  it. 
  

   I 
  kept 
  the 
  cricket 
  in 
  a 
  jar 
  and 
  its 
  parasite 
  prospered. 
  On 
  September 
  

   17 
  I 
  found 
  the 
  remains 
  of 
  the 
  demolished 
  nymph 
  in 
  the 
  jar 
  and 
  the 
  

   Rhopalosoma 
  larva, 
  now 
  creamy 
  white 
  with 
  a 
  large 
  head 
  and 
  pro- 
  

   jecting 
  mandibles, 
  busily 
  hitching 
  itself 
  along 
  with 
  its 
  mandibles. 
  

   It 
  was 
  very 
  restless, 
  so 
  I 
  put 
  it 
  in 
  some 
  damp 
  sand. 
  The 
  larva 
  

   promptly 
  worked 
  into 
  the 
  sand 
  and 
  came 
  to 
  rest 
  in 
  one 
  corner 
  of 
  the 
  

   jar, 
  under 
  the 
  sand. 
  Three 
  days 
  later 
  it 
  had 
  completed 
  an 
  elongate, 
  

   castaneous 
  cocoon." 
  

  

  The 
  cocoon 
  was 
  kept 
  indoors 
  by 
  Dr. 
  Townes, 
  at 
  a 
  temperature 
  in 
  

   the 
  neighborhood 
  of 
  55° 
  F. 
  In 
  late 
  February 
  he 
  mailed 
  it 
  to 
  me 
  and 
  

   suggested 
  that 
  dissection 
  to 
  determine 
  whether 
  pupation 
  had 
  occurred 
  

   might 
  be 
  advisable. 
  The 
  parchmentlike 
  cocoon 
  was 
  14 
  millimeters 
  

   long, 
  about 
  5 
  millimeters 
  in 
  diameter, 
  and 
  rounded 
  at 
  the 
  ends. 
  The 
  

   inner 
  surface 
  was 
  a 
  lighter 
  chestnut 
  color 
  than 
  the 
  outside 
  and 
  scarcely 
  

   any 
  individual 
  threads 
  of 
  silk 
  were 
  apparent 
  except 
  on 
  the 
  outside. 
  

   When 
  the 
  cocoon 
  was 
  opened 
  on 
  February 
  23, 
  the 
  larva 
  was 
  doubled 
  

   up 
  in 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  it 
  with 
  about 
  one-fourth 
  of 
  the 
  cocoon's 
  length 
  

   empty 
  at 
  each 
  end. 
  Pupation 
  had 
  not 
  occurred, 
  nor 
  had 
  there 
  been 
  

   any 
  casting 
  of 
  larval 
  skins 
  or 
  passing 
  of 
  fecal 
  material, 
  but 
  the 
  larva 
  

   appeared 
  perfectly 
  healthy. 
  After 
  preservation 
  it 
  was 
  6 
  millimeters 
  

   long. 
  The 
  mandibles 
  bore 
  no 
  teeth. 
  

  

  The 
  original 
  observations 
  of 
  Hood 
  (1914) 
  were 
  based 
  on 
  a 
  larva 
  

   taken 
  at 
  Plummer's 
  Island, 
  Md., 
  October 
  6, 
  1912. 
  The 
  host, 
  Orocharis 
  

   saltator 
  Uliler, 
  was 
  quite 
  active 
  when 
  found, 
  as 
  it 
  was 
  said 
  to 
  be 
  

   "scampering 
  over 
  the 
  forest 
  floor 
  as 
  rapidly 
  as 
  a 
  large 
  abdominal 
  

   protuberance 
  and 
  a 
  nearly 
  functionless 
  hind 
  leg 
  would 
  permit." 
  The 
  

   anterior 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  parasite 
  was 
  at 
  the 
  host's 
  eighth 
  abdominal 
  seg- 
  

   ment. 
  Tliis 
  specimen 
  grew 
  rapidly, 
  left 
  the 
  cricket 
  three 
  days 
  after 
  

   capture 
  and 
  entered 
  the 
  soil, 
  emerging 
  indoors 
  as 
  an 
  adult 
  about 
  

   March 
  1, 
  1913. 
  The 
  information 
  Hood 
  gave 
  concerning 
  the 
  exuviae 
  

   and 
  the 
  quiescent 
  state 
  of 
  the 
  host 
  just 
  prior 
  to 
  the 
  parasite's 
  final 
  

   visible 
  molt 
  agrees 
  fully 
  with 
  my 
  findings. 
  The 
  cocoon 
  from 
  which 
  the 
  

   adult 
  emerged 
  has 
  recently 
  been 
  opened 
  and 
  the 
  fifth 
  instar 
  exuviae 
  

  

  