1922 



ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



37 



The Adult. 



After the third and final moult the mite reaches the adult stage. 



Descriptions : The female is oval in shape and rather stout ; carmine in colour 

 with dark red to black blotches on the abdomen ; and measures .36 — .46 mm x 

 .25 — .28 mm. The legs are cream to dusky yellow in colour. On -the dorsal 

 surface there are 26 setose bristles, each of which is set in a conspicuous white 

 tubercle. 



The male is considerably smaller than the female and measures about .20 mm. 

 — .28 mm x .14 mm — .16 mm. The cephalothorax is pearly pink to reddish with a 

 median crimson eye-spot; the abdomen is dark red to purplish black and the legs 

 are translucent. 



Egg Laying Activities of the Female: In our insectary studies, the female 

 mites commenced to deposit eggs 2 to 5 days (the average was three days) after 

 reaching maturity. Each female laid from 11 to 90 eggs with an average of 

 38.6, (table No. 4). The daily rate of deposition per female varied from 1 egg 

 to 12 eggs, and the egg-laying period ranged from 3 to 29 days. (Table No. 5). 



TABLE No. 4— Showing Daily Number and Total Number of Eggs Laid per Female 



Brood 



No. of 

 Pairs 



Eggs Laid Daily 



Total Egf d Laid 



Time of 

 Year 



Temperature 





Min. 



Max 



Aver. 



Min. 



Max. 



Aver. 



Min. 



Max. 



Mean 



1st 



6 



1 



12 



3 



12 



39 



29 



May 19th to 

 June 14th 



38 



90 



1 



2nd 



7 



1 



9 



4 



11 



62 



42 



June 15th to 

 July 14th 



48. 



98 



74 



3rd 



7 



1 



9 



3 



41 



90 



66 



July 7th to 

 Aug. 6th 



52 



95 



77 



4th 



7 



1 



9 



3 



38 



75 



52 



July 26th to 

 Aug. 30th 



46 



92 



75 



5th 



7 



1 



8 



3 



13 



52 



31 



Aug. 19th to 

 Sept. 16th 



46 



92 



60 



6th 



8 



1 



8 



3 



11 



20 



15 



Sept. 14th to 

 Sept. 29th 



45 



80 



58 



Average throughout season : 



3.4 





38.6 









