29 



On May 29. only four of the live eggs could be accounted 

 for. One had hatched and the larva was attached to the Sem- 

 noprepia larva and this one alone of the progeny reached full 

 larval growth and it failed to spin its coccoon and transform. 

 A second lai-va had hatched and was transferred from the glass 

 but failed to develop: this was true of the third larva as well 

 and the fourth egg was unhatched and did not hatch. 



The female Sderodermus showed much interest in the cater- 

 pillar, the egg and the young larvae, working over them all with 

 her maxillae and palpi. At one time she appeared to be 

 tryins: to remove the egg from the glass to the caterpillar. 

 More than once she seemed to be trying to bite into the 

 caterpillar for the young larvae. It seems probable though 

 that she was attempting to feed on the juices exuding 

 from the wound made by the feeding of the voiing larva. 

 By May 31, three new eggs had been laid and c»nly a 

 single larva remained from the first lot of eggs. Thii 

 was feeding from the abdomen of the caterpillar just in from 

 of the first pair of prolegs. The effects of the adult Scleroder- 

 in us' feeding was seen in the shrinking of the caterpillar, which 

 was considerably greater than the feeding of the larva would 

 accoimt for. By June 3 the larva was nearly fullgrown and 

 the eggs had not hatched. The caterpillar was greatly shrunk- 

 en in the middle as the result of the feeding of the ScJeroder- 

 mus larva. The adult was still living and was removed and 

 placed with a larva of CrypfopMehia iUepida which had been 

 stimg by Perisierola. She began to eaxmine the anal extremity 

 of the larva with her mandibles and seemingly finding it too 

 active, since it gave a sharp but slight jerk, she reversed and 

 attempted clumsily and slowly to sting it while straight, a 

 posture well adapted to the natural host caterpillar in its bur- 

 row but not for the caterpillar Iving free in the tube. This 

 operation was repeated several times in a few minutes. 



On June 9 a larva* of apparently another genus but the 

 same wood-boring tvpe was brought from the mountains and 



This larva was injured or panly drowried. 



