THE EGGPLANT LACE-BUG. 
THE EGGS. 
The minute greenish eggs are deposited on the underside of the 
leaves in circular masses of about 116 to 188. Their bases are attached 
in irregular rows, not erect, but, as before stated, leaning in different 
directions and at different angles. A sticky secretion is spread over 
the eggs after oviposition. To the unaided eye the eggs appear like 
a mass of mere dots on the underside of the leaf, occupying an area 
of leaf surface about one-half inch in diameter. The female attends 
the eggs during the entire period of incubation, leaving them only at 
intervals to feed, and later, when the nymphs emerge, is constantly 
in attendance. 
Table II indicates the normal period of incubation for the summer 
months. Since not all the eggs are deposited at one time by the 
female, the emergence of the nymphs extends over several days. The 
table, however, refers to dates when nymphs first began emerging. 
Table II. — Incubation period of the eggplant lace-bug , Norfolk, Va., 1914. 
No. 
Date of 
deposi- 
tion of 
eggs. 
Date of 
emer- 
gence of 
nymphs. 
Incuba- 
tion 
period. 
No. 
Date of 
deposi- 
tion of 
eggs. 
Date of 
emer- 
gence of 
nymphs. 
Incuba- 
tion 
period. 
1 
May 24 
May 25 
June 15 
June 17 
June 21 
May 30 
May 31 
June 23 
June 24 
June 26 
Days. 
6 
6 
8 
7 
5 
6 
June 23 
June 23 
June 26 
July 4 
June 28 
June 29 
July 3 
July 19 
Days. 
5 
2 
7 
6 
3 
8 
7 
4 
9 
5 
5. 
THE NYMPHS. 
The nymphs are always found feeding in groups (Pis. IV and V). 
After the first molt they become yellow and at the same time shift 
their feeding position on the leaves. When migrating from one leaf 
to another the female adult usually directs the way, and with her 
long antenna? keeps the nymphs together or rebukes any straggler 
or deserter. It is an interesting sight to observe the migration of a 
colony of more than a hundred nymphs, with the female adult hurry- 
ing from one end of the flock to the other, keeping them together, 
and at the same time urging them in the right direction during the 
migration. When a new area has been selected the nymphs settle 
down, insert the proboscis, and begin to feed. 
In its undeveloped forms, particularly in its last two nymphal 
stages, the eggplant lace-bug is an interesting and grotesque-looking 
object. The head and body are covered with spiny processes the 
function of which is not yet well understood. Some of the spines on 
the head are hornlike and, situated as they are near the eyes, they 
resemble very much the horns of some domesticated animals. 
That the adult female keeps a watchful eye for intruders and ene- 
mies while in attendance on the nymphs is attested by the following 
