Biology of Staphylinidae 249 
located by the olfactory sense of the female. Preceding oviposi- 
tion the female digs a small trench either in the earth or in the 
decaying substance with the tip of her abdomen. The egg is 
deposited in the trench and then covered with earth or decay- 
ing material. After a short period of rest the behavior is 
repeated and a second egg is deposited. This second egg is not 
deposited by the side of the first but nearby. The number of 
eggs is limited to six or eight 
n her review of Xambeu’s report Mank (23:225) has pos- 
sibly aioe the French for she says, “She digs an oblong 
trench in the soil or other material with her anal segment and 
then decae six to eight eggs in it, one at a time, and covers 
it all with earth or food.” I understand the phrase “. . . . elle 
de son ovaire il ne reste plus de germes .’ to mean that 
the female — nearby and always u under the same heap a 
second egg in the same manner as she deposited the first. This 
behavior is cas until the ovaries are exhausted. 
Xambeu’s complete account is as follows: “Ponte.——A cet effet, si 
elle ne se trouve déja sous un cadavre mien ~ les vers ou sous des 
matieres putrescibles déja habitees, elle vole la recherche de la 
nourrieture destinée a sa future lignée ; a Pai de de son sens Ren es 
si subtil, elle a bientot fait de trouver le milieu convenable ;—-la provende 
Sipe as ainsi découverte, ree & agne ie pps de ses amas, s Soa 
pro ondément Soc e des ections ou sous le sol rendu 
fraisé on l’écoulemement ie ete sanie der cadavres fe des dégagements 
azotes des matiéres vegetales;—de l’extrémité de son segment anal elle 
creuse un petit trou qu “elle fee en a me de loge. eh ay ass appropiée 
au volume de globule a placer, dépose un premier oeuf, dont elle di s- 
ué er c 
coin du terrain ou elle terminera péniblement ses jours, 4 moins qu’un 
affamé ne vienne lui disputer les quelgues moments qui lui restent 
= ” 
vivre. 
I have not observed the actual behavior of oviposition in 
the field or in the laboratory but from the observations made o 
Staphylinus maculosus, Tachinus fimbriatus and Owholedee 
cingulatus which oviposited in the laboratory I have the follow- 
ing note. A pair of Staphylinus maculosus taken near carrion 
at Bloomington, Indiana, 4.15.27, were placed the same day in 
a small fruit jar which was partly filled with earth. Copulation 
took place almost immediately. On April 28th, I found two 
and one egg shell, on May 2nd, five eggs and one egg shell, on 
May 4th, one egg, and on May 6th, two eggs making a total 
