June, '15] 



FUNKHOUSER: ENCHENOPA BINOTATA SAY 



369 



the eggs are laid, not in the bark of the slender twigs, but at the base of 

 the buds and in the buds themselves. In oviposition the female rests 

 on the bud with the head pointed towards the apex and inserts the ovi- 

 positor in the base of the bud, usually between tw^o of the lower scales, 

 especially w^hen the winter eggs are being deposited. The ovipositor 

 sometimes enters the twig just below the scales but in almost all cases 

 the insect has some part of its body resting on the bud. Oviposition 

 lasts from ten to twenty minutes after which the insect moves shghtly 

 around the twig or to a neighboring bud and repeats the process; three 

 consecutive ovipositions by one female have been noted in the field. 

 This process is most commonly observed during the latter part of 

 August. The egg-slits are rather large, about 1.5 mm. long at the 

 opening and 3 mm. long at the bottom of the slit, and since the buds 

 at the time the eggs are laid, are not usually more than 6-8 mm. in 

 diameter, and the twigs below the buds, which are occasionally in- 

 fested, about 5-6 mm. in diameter, the egg-mass occupies a considerable 

 part of the host. Two such slits are made, side by side, and about 2 mm. 

 apart. They diverge at the bottom, however, the planes of the slits 

 being at a considerable angle, so that the bottoms of the slits are some 

 distance apart, often at opposite sides of the bud. In each of these 

 punctures from three to six eggs are laid, the usual number apparently 

 being five on each side. The eggs are about 1.5 mm. long and .3 mm. 

 in greatest diameter, often slightly flattened, somewhat curved, more 

 or less flask-shaped and of an opaque white color. The eggs are seldom 

 covered with the frothy deposit so characteristic of this species on 

 other hosts. At first I believed that it was never present, but I have 

 occasionally succeeded in finding it. When present it is not white but 

 a dirty yellow and much thinner and smoother than that which covers 

 the eggs on the locust, on which host I have often seen the insects excrete 

 the substance. I have never found this frothy mass on the buds but 

 only on the twig at the base of the bud. Whether the epidermis of the 

 butternut is or is not conducive to this method of egg protection would 

 be a matter of conjecture. 



The nymphs first appear locally about the first week in May. The 

 earliest field record is May 3, 1912. There are five instars, each of 

 which may be recognized by more or less distinct characters of the 

 thorax and abdomen. The nymphs are covered with a white powdery 

 coat which is almost w^oolly in the younger stages. On the butternut 

 the nymphs retain this w^hite covering throughout the entire five stages 

 and the last nymphal skin is snowy white, particularly onthethorax and 

 on the sides of the abdomen. The opposite is true of the nymphs on other 

 hosts, w^hich, as observed by Matausch {ibid., p. 65), lose this powdery 

 coating after the second molt. The development of the nymphs re- 



