56 OVIPOSITION OF THE GRANNOM 



of oviposition, carries at the oviducts an 

 oval bunch of bluish -green eggs enveloped in 

 a gelatinous substance which adheres to the 

 weeds and stones, and expands considerably on 

 contact with the water. This egg mass is lodged 

 in a cavity formed by the turning inwards of 

 the last two or three segments of the abdomen. 



FlG. 28. Genitalia of Brachycentrus subnubilus, <J 

 (grannom), from beneath. 



The female, when the eggs are fully ex- 

 truded, probably descends into the water to 

 deposit them by climbing down some post or 

 weed stem, and possibly never rises to the surface 

 again. I do not remember ever having captured 

 or seen a female voided of eggs, and in my 

 aquarium I have found individuals attached 

 to the weed several inches below the surface of 

 the water, and quite dead. 



