female kept for 



39 



days, laid 



13 



do. 



18 



do. 



3 



do. 



18 



do. 



3 



do. 



28 



do. 



11 



do. 



20 



do. 



7 



do. 



25 



do. 



6 



do. 



28 



do. 



8 



do. 



16 



do. 



5 



OF THE ASPTDOMORPHA MILIARIS. 135 



ity, in Petri capsules either died after a few days, escaped 

 when their food was being changed, or were killed for dissection 

 and study of their anatomy. The following are a few examples 

 of the number of egg bunches laid by females which lived for 

 two or three weeks : — 



egg bunches in that time, 

 do. 

 do. 



do. * 

 do. 

 do. 

 do. 

 do. 



Shewing an average of one egg bunch every 3i days. 



The longest lived of any of the insects kept in captivity 

 was a female, which lived for 110 days, during which time she 

 was twice paired, and laid 23 egg bunches in 75 days. 



An exceptional pair, both of which died after being kept 

 for 12 days, were observed in coitu for 9 consecutive days, but 

 no egg bunch was ever laid. 



An experiment of confining together 3 males and 3 females, 

 distinguished by paint marks of different colours, shewed that 

 they paired indiscriminately, and as freely as when kept by 

 separate pairs. 



Mortality. 



After keeping the insects in captivity for about 5 months 

 some 60 or 70 were put out free upon four small bushes of 

 Ipomca carnea, and observed for the next 7 months. 



Their habits as noted when kept in captivity, appear to 

 be much the same when living in a state of freedom, though 

 owing to their moving from one bush to another, and to the 

 impossibility of distinguishing individuals, no very accurate 

 observation could be made. 



From the numbers of egg bunches found on the leaves 

 it would appear that they breed at the same rate when either 



R. A. Soc, No. 53, 1909. 



