42 BULLETIN 416, IJ. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



Table X. — Life history of Geocoris punctipes, Batesburg, S. C. 



Indi- 

 vidual 

 No. 



Collected. 



Hatched. 



First molt. 



Second 

 molt. 



Third 

 molt. 



Fourth 

 molt. 



.1 



a-. 



>> 



•V 



.9 



03 



.5 



03 



a 

 o 



<a 



03 

 Jh^ — 



>> 



g 



In'" 



1 



Aug. 8 

 do . 



Aug. 14 

 Aug. 11 

 Aug. 13 

 Aug. 14 

 do 











6 

 3 

 3 

 4 

 4 

 3 

 3 

 2 

 5 













2 



Aug. 16 



Aug. 22 



Aug. 21 

 Aug. 25 



Lost 





5 

 9 



5 

 3 









3 



4 



Aug. 10 

 do 



Sept 2 



Sept. 9 



8 



7 



30 



5 



do 



..do 



















g 



do 



Aug. 13 

 .. do 



do 



















7 



do 



do 



















8 



Aug. 26 

 do 



Aug. 28 

 Aug. 31 



do 



















9 



do 





















Averages 























3.66 



7 



4 



8 



7 



?n 

















1 Since the date of deposition of the eggs was not known, our records for incubation are all a trifle short. 



It will be seen that the average time required for incubation is 

 about 4 days, that the first nymphal instar requires from 5 to 9 days, 

 the second instar from 3 to 5 days, the tMrd instar 8 days, the 

 fourth instar 7 days, and that the period from deposition to adult 

 is doubtless about 30 days. Table XI presents our data relative 

 to the capacity of this hemipteron as a red-spider enemy. 



Table XI. — Record of red spiders devoured by reared nymphs of Geocoris punctipes, 



Batesburg, S. C. 





Red spiders consumed by- 



Day. 



Red spiders consumed by- 



Day. 



Nymph 



Nymph 



Nymph 



Total. 



Nymph 



Nymph 



Nymph 

 No. 3. 



Total 



1st 



130 

 13 

 23 

 30 

 35 

 22 

 21 

 31 

 42 

 38 

 54 

 69 



8 

 5 

 13 

 20 

 23 

 43 

 34 

 12 

 38 

 52 

 43 

 31 

 67 

 84 

 63 

 65 

 78 



7 

 23 

 20 

 29 



8 

 33 

 40 

 50 

 52 

 21 

 37 

 69 

 56 

 60 





18th 





95 



80 



70 



98 



114 



106 



50 



103 



111 



2 83 







2d 



19th 









3d 



20th 



- 







4th 



21st 









5th 



22d 









6th 



23d 









7th 



24th 









8th 



25th 









9th 



26th 









10th 



27th 











Total red 

 spiders 



Total days... 



Average per 

 day (red 

 spiders) 









12th 



398 

 12 



33.2 



1,589 

 27 



58.8 



505 

 14 



36.1 





13th 



2,492 

 53 



14th 





15th 







16th 











17th 









47.0 













1 These 33 were eggs, the diet being changed on the following day to mites. 



2 Nymph became adult on the twenty-seventh day. 



From Table XI it is seen that 3 mdividuals with a total of 53 

 feeding days ate 2,492 red spiders, or an average of 47 per nymph. 

 The first instar consumed, on an average, 141 adult red spiders; 161 

 were drained by the second instar, 602 by the third, and 665 mites 

 were eaten by the fourth instar. The adults exhibited an average 



