ZOOLOGY: C. T. BRUES 
137 
been deposited. Among the parasitic Hymenoptera there are many 
species which oviposit in the eggs of the host insect. In such cases 
the adult female parasite usually discovers the eggs of the host after 
they have been left upon the foodplant, or wherever they are to develop. 
The location of the host eggs in this manner must involve great difhcul- 
ties as they are frequently well concealed. 
A unique method of eliminating some of these difficulties has recently 
come to my notice in connection with some small parasitic Hymenop- 
tera of the family Scelionidae. Some of the members of this group 
develop in the eggs of locusts, and occasionally the adults attach 
themselves to the body of the locust. They are thus carried about by 
the host, and when the locust deposits its eggs, they undoubtedly seize 
the opportunity and leave it to deposit their own in those freshly laid 
by the locust. 
The accompanying photographs illustrate an example which recently 
came into my possession, where the parasites remain upon the body 
of the locust. There are four parasites, all females, each still firmly 
attached by the jaws to the abdomen of the locust, notwithstanding 
the fact that the latter was placed in alcohol and subsequently sent me 
by parcel post from India. The mandibles are imbedded in the body 
at the sutures between the abdominal plates, and in each case the pos- 
terior margin of the forward segment is pushed back distinctly at the 
point of attachment, affording a very secure hold for the mandibles. 
Quite possibly the insects may be able to cling more tightly by reason 
of a sharp tooth which projects from each cheek, although this tooth 
does not occur in related forms with similar habits. 
I do not believe that this habit is very general among the Scelioids 
which have been bred from locust eggs, although it has already oeen 
noticed. Ashmead in his Monograph of the North American Procto- 
typidae^ having taken a female specimen of Sceliomorpha hisulca Ashm. 
' 'holding on to the elytron of a short winged locust,'^ and he suggests 
that it is there for the purpose of locating the place where the eggs of 
the host will be deposited. In this case the observation was made in 
Florida, but the species of locust is not indicated. 
The Indian example figured in the present note comes from Wala- 
janagar in South India, and is the common Jola or Deccan Grasshopper 
{Colemania sphenarioides Bolivar) which is a widely distributed species 
in India. Coleman who has studied this locust refers^ to a small Hy- 
menopterous parasite found in the eggs and it is probable that these 
parasites are the same species as the ones which I have received attached 
to the locust. As the species has not been described, a description is 
appended to the present note. 
