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BRITISH TYEOGLYPH1D.E. 



during winter the creatures were apt, at irregular 

 intervals, to become torpid in a manner which exactly 

 simulated the inert stage before ecdysis ; and that they 

 remained so for varying and uncertain periods, re- 

 viving quite suddenly. I found that this might occur 

 once or two or three times or more to the same indi- 

 vidual during the winter without any ecdysis occurring ; 

 but I have not ever seen a similar occurrence in 

 summer. I was not able to trace that the becoming 

 torpid, or the length of time that the torpidity lasted, 

 was affected by the temperature of the room in which 

 the cells were ; all the creatures did not become torpid 

 at one time. I could not find out any settled rule 

 about it, but practically I did not find that any adults 

 emerged in my cells in winter. 



I have therefore come to the conclusion that in H. 

 entomophagus, as in G. anonymus, there is one larval 

 ecdysis and two nymphal ecdyses ; the second nymphal 

 ecdysis bringing the creature to the adult or imago 

 stage in both sexes. As will be seen below, this rule 

 does not hold good where a hypopial stage intervenes ; 

 but during the whole time that I have kept H. entomo- 

 pliagus in confinement (considerably over a year) I 

 have not ever seen a hypopus of that species either in 

 my cells or in my store. 



I have given, in the following tables, some abstracts 

 of my notes made from day to day of what took place 

 in my breeding-cells during the above investigation ; I 

 have selected a few of what seem to me to be the most 

 instructive records out of a great number. The 

 summer- records are distinguished by the letter S 

 before the number of the cell. Of course I cannot say 

 how far the length of time that different stages lasted 

 may have been affected by the artificial conditions of 

 life which the creatures were under. 



Although I think it most convenient to place these 

 tables here at the end of the ordinary nymphal stage, 

 yet such records as S. 8, S. 18, embrace the whole life 

 circle. 



