Ecological and Behavior Notes 61 



in April I took a water-strider of this species preying 

 upon a green caterpillar. The caterpillar had e^'idently 

 fallen into the water from a tree above; the strider had 

 its beak inserted into its victim for more than a half hour 

 before I took it. 



Rasahus higuttatus Say. [E. H. Gibson]. Taken among 

 twigs and leaves at Wickes, June 12, 1917. 



Podisus sp. [0. Heideman]. On June 25, 1915, at Cliff 

 Cave, Mo., a nymph of this Hemipteron was found prey- 

 ing upon an adult, Reduvius personatus Linn. [0. Heide- 

 man]. It had its proboscis inserted in the ventral side of 

 the victim *s abdomen, and held it free in the air. Even 

 when picked up it did not release its grip, but continued 

 for half an hour to drain the life-blood of its prey. It 

 lived in confinement for thirty hours after this feat. 



Melanolestes picipes (!) [H. S. Barber]. Our notes 

 from various times and places contain half a dozen 

 records of having taken this '* kissing bug" in various 

 houses, by the evening lamp. One made known its pres- 

 ence on the back of my neck by inflicting a momentary 

 pain which was so sharp that, in a most unscientific man- 

 ner, I slapped it without even trying to observe its ways. 



Anasa tristis De G. On Aug. 12, 1912, I made notes on 

 the clusters of eggs laid by this insect. The great major- 

 ity of them had been deposited on the under or shaded 

 side of the leaf. Out of 58 lots observed, 49 were on the 

 under side of the leaves, 2 were on the top of the leaf, 

 2 were on the stem and 5 were on the board fence nearby. 

 Although most of the groups contain, as Howard says, 

 from 20 to 40 eggs, we found many batches comprising 

 fewer. On September 30, a large number of adults were 

 found under the loose bark of a dead tree where they 

 were probably preparing for hibernation. 



Podisus (Apeteticus) maculiventris Say. [0. Heide- 

 man]. At 5:30 one August afternoon this Hemipteron 

 was observed holding by its legs to the fluffy flower of 

 the white snake-root, while it held far out in the air, on 



