;300 



rated from them. She holds herself for some time immobile 

 except for one hind leg and the ovipositor and sheath which 

 move slightly from time to time, tinally the egg glides slowly 

 out under the sheaths and sting. After the discharge of the 

 egg, she leaves at once without examining the egg. 



The process of oviposition <»ccui)ies two or three days 

 ordinarily, and this is followed l)y some days interval before 

 the next lot are ready. The eggs being large in proportion to 

 the size of the insect a gravid female has her abdomen 

 considerably distended just before oviposition. 



I'lie nuui])er of eggs laid upon a particular grub seemed 

 in most cases to show some relation to its size, l)ut this may 

 l)e due to the female eating some of her own eggs, for this 

 has been observed in numerous cases where the beetle larvae 

 liad Ix'coinc so dry as to Ix' uusuital)lc for her food. Tlie 

 uund)er of eggs laid in a single l»atch seems to run froui al)out 

 ten to nearlv forty and a single female may lay from four to 

 six or more batches of eggs with intervals or Wxo to seven 

 or more days between ; my observations do not enal)le me 

 to state with any accuracy the number of eggs laid by a 

 single female nor her usual length of life, but probably not 

 uuiny females lay more than 150 eggs nor live more than 

 three months. 



General Ilahils. The fenuiles are exceedingly hardy in 

 their natural environment and w^ork their way readily through 

 the bark, rotten wood, and debris produced by other insects, 

 using their stout mandibles to gnaw their way about if neces- 

 sary. In my earlier work with them several were lost by 

 their eating their way* thi-ougli coi-ks in vials in which they 

 had been confined. They are not readily killed by cyanide of 

 potassium and frequently revive after having apparently been 

 killed and mouurcd ou ])oiuts. The alate females do not 

 readily employ their wings in fiight but w'ill do so on occas- 

 ion, especially in the sunshine. The males are much less 

 hardy than the females and are usually dead by the time the 

 females begin oviposition. In several cases where a male was 



