320 
June, but in the rearing jar none have emerged for me before the 20th 
of July, and even at the latter date the acorns are not nearly grown. 
Opposition takes place mostly during September. On the 29th of 
that month last year I had the good fortune to observe the process of 
oviposition in an acorn of Post Oak. While examining a bough for 
some other purpose a beetle, afterward identified as B. uniformly 
alighted or crawled upon an acorn within plain sight, and after some pre- 
liminary examination finally braced herself with legs widely extended 
and with a slight upward and downward motion of the head and thorax 
began drilling into the side of the acorn just beyond the margin of the 
-cup. It took some little time to penetrate the shell, although the latter 
was still green, but once through this the insect ate her way into the 
tender cotyledons until the beak was two-thirds buried in the acorn. 
In this position she remained almost motionless for what seemed several 
minutes, then slowly withdrew her beak and revolving as though on a 
pivot applied the tip of her abdomen to the shell, and finally with a 
delicate sense of touch found the orifice prepared by the beak into 
which, after considerable delay, the egg was inserted by the somewhat 
-extensile ovipositor. She then again reversed her position and inserted 
the beak for the purpose, apparently of pushing the egg further into 
the tunnel excavated for it. As she was again withdrawing her beak 
I placed her, nut and all. into the collecting box. This transpired late 
in the afternoon and on the following day the acorn was carefully 
opened and the oblong, pellucid egg, about one millimeter in length. 
was revealed, placed on end in the cavity prepared for its reception. 
Several other eggs in more advanced stages of development were after- 
wards discovered. These had become somewhat opaque and the seg- 
mentation of the embryos was quite distinct. 
The larger proportion of the Balaninus larvae seem to develop with 
considerable rapidity and to leave the fruit to enter the ground before 
frost, but a considerable number may be found in acorns at almost any 
time throughout the winter. It is probable that these, under natural 
conditions, never develop, but when placed in the rearing jar some of 
these belated individuals have, for me, attained the perfect form. It is 
but rarely that two larva? will be found within a single acorn, but 
when this occurs, although in small acorns such as those of the Post 
Oak, there is scarcely enough nutriment for two, yet what there is 
seems to be equally divided between them. The castings are usually 
very fine and very compactly pressed together, but in the acorns of the 
Black Oak sometimes take the form of short, dark threads, intermin- 
gled with the woolly fibers of the inner coat of the shell. 
HABITS AND ADOLESCENT STAG-ES OF THE ACORN MELISSOPUS. 
Melissopus ( Carpocapsa) latiferreana, Wisin. 
This beautiful and interesting species which, with the exception of 
the Mexican Jumping Bean Moth {Carpocapsa saltitans). is the nearest 
