PREDACEOUS HEMIPTERA. 403 



the imago state. The time required for the process of 

 mating varies from twelve to forty-eight hours. 



That the males of this species are polygamous is evident 

 from the fact that one male confined in a breeding cage at 

 the insectary successfully fertilized three females. With the 

 exception of the females of the last brood, oviposition takes 

 place in from eight hours to two or three days from the 

 time of mating. The female deposits a cluster of from ten 

 to thirty eggs, then rests and feeds for a few hours, but later 

 resumes the work of egg-laying. In this way some three 

 or four clusters of eggs are deposited, the whole process of 

 egg-laying usually taking from one to four days. 



Hibernation. — That the insect hibernates in the imago 

 state seems to be an assured fact, since specimens of the 

 last brood reared at the insectary, and left in the breeding 

 cages out of doors, are alive at the time of this writing 

 (Jan. 1, 1896). The imagoes of the last brood mate soon 

 after reaching the mature form, and the fertilized females 

 feed at intervals for a week or two ; but with the advent of 

 cooler weather seek hibernating quarters, such as the crev- 

 ices in the rough bark of trees, under burlap bands, etc., or 

 even under the dead leaves upon the ground, sometimes 

 burying themselves one or two inches beneath the surface. 

 All of the males reared during the past year died without 

 attempting to hibernate. 



Number of Annual Broods. During the summer of 1895, 

 imagoes of this species were more or less abundant about the 

 last of June and the middle of August, and in fewer numbers 

 from the middle to the last of September, although individ- 

 uals were taken throughout the summer. Nymphs were 

 found in considerable numbers at such intervals, subsequent 

 to the appearance of the imagoes, as would lead one to believe 

 that they were distinct broods. I have reared two broods 

 of this species between the last of June and the latter part 

 of September ; and this, in connection with the facts that 

 young nymphs have been found in early June, and that the 

 fertilized female imagoes of the last brood hibernate, would 

 seem to be nearly conclusive evidence that the species is 

 three-brooded in this region. 



