NATURE'S REALM. 87 
a chirping noise. Soon after pairing, about 
the end of May, they begin to lay their eggs, 
an operation I watched the female perform. 
She selects the tender twigs of trees like the 
chestnut, about a foot from the end (fig. 6). 
Taking firm hold of the twig, she thrusts out a 
black dart from the tail. This dart is an ap- 
paratus provided in the female for slitting the 

Fic. 5. 
branches and depositing her eggs, and consists 
of several pieces fitted together (fig. 7). The 
dart proper is composed of two pieces (fig. 8) 
placed right and left, spear-shaped, and work- 
ing something like a saw. The side pieces 
(fig. 7) convey the eggs to the nest. This dart 
is thrust out about half an inch, and pierces 
the limb obliquely in the direction of the fibre to 
straight layers along the same branch. The 
slots are from half to an inch long, in each of 
which they deposit from four to ten eggs. It 
is said one female will deposit from 400 to 700 
eggs, going from one branchto another. Soon 
after depositing their eggs they die and fall ta 
\ 

Fic. 8. 
the ground. In riding along Edge Hill road, 
through a forest of chestnut, I found them so 
numerous as to be constantly flying against us, 
the dead lying thick upon the ground. 
The ends of the branches from the place of 
depositing the eggs die, break and hang down, 
in some cases covering the outer surface of the 
trees with dead branches and leaves, in singu- 

Fic, 6. 
the pith of the branch (that the larve may live 
upon it when in its tender state), splintering the 
wood in small fibres: Slitting the bark a 
quarter of an inch forward, the dart again 
“pierces deep, and so continues in four places 
(fig. 6), each time plowing back and conveying 
the eggs to their place by means of the grooved 
side pieces of the piercer. The eggs lay in 
lar contrast with the inner green foliage. Te 
W. Harris says: 
“They severed the branch below the eggs, 
so that the wind would twist off the extreme 
part containing the eggs and let it fall to the 
ground.” 
Also Westwood in his works remarks: 
“They make choice of dead dried branches, 
