38 



Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis. 



No like tabulations are offered for the age of earliest 

 oviposition of mated females, because even when the op- 

 portunity lay before the females to mate as early in life 

 as they pleased, some ova were often deposited before 

 copulation, and if not, oviposition was merely delayed 

 until the conclusion of the mating period. 



AGE AT WHICH THE GEEATEST NUMBER OF EGGS WEEE 

 DEPOSITED. 



In connection with the observations on the age at which 

 the females begin to oviposit, it was thought desirable to 

 find out at what age most of the eggs are deposited. This 

 will give us an idea of the extent of the waste due to the 

 oviposition which occurs too early for mating. 



TABLE 22. 



Age at Which the Greatest Number of- Eggs Were Deposited. 

 (Unmated Insects.) 



Here we find that most of these 136 insects experienced 

 their most productive day in the prime of their life, or 

 at least before the decadence, for 66% had the most pro- 

 ductive day between the second and sixth day of their 



