HABITS OF THE ADULT. 
19 
the leaf surface. She then proceeded to work the ovipositor back 
and forth in the rupture until she had made an incision of sufficient 
depth. After this she became motionless for a varying length of 
time, while the egg was being deposited, whereupon the ovipositor 
was removed, and the female moved away. 
A number of cases have been observed where the female, after 
inserting the ovipositor, could not withdraw it, and, thus held, she 
soon died. 
NUMBER OF EGGS AND PERIOD OF OVIPOSITION. 
Owing to the artificial means used in studying the habits of this 
insect it was impossible to determine exactly how many eggs a 
female is capable of laying. However, the writer confined 6 fe- 
males in a vial for observation. They laid an average of 35.5 egg* 
each, while the highest average for any day was 5.5 eggs each. 
Another female, during the period from August 16 to August 23, 
1911, laid 16 eggs, the greatest number laid in any one day being 5. 
At Compton, CaL, during 1911, females kept in confinement were 
observed to oviposit for 30 days in succession, while others were 
observed to oviposit 51 and 83 days after they emerged from the 
pupae. If this insect normally continues oviposition regularly over 
a period of 83 days the total number of eggs laid must be very large. 
Mr. V. L. Wildermuth, while in the Imperial Valley, made some 
interesting notes on the number of eggs this species may deposit. 
On August 2, 1910, he confined 2 females on leaves of alfalfa in 
a vial, and on August 5 these leaves contained 50 eggs, or an average 
of 25 eggs each in 3 days. His other observations are given in 
Table I. 
Table I. — Number of eggs deposited by the bean thrips (Heliothrips fasciatus) , 
Imperial Valley, Gal., 1910. 
Exper- 
Date female 
was put in vial. 
Date and number o i eggs. 
Total 
period of 
oviposi- 
tion. 
Total 
iment 
No. 
1910. 
Eggs. 
1910. 
Eggs. 
1910. 
Eggs. 
Dead. 
number 
of eggs. 
1 
2 
1910. 
Aug. 29 
Aug. 31 .• 
do 
.....do 
1911. 
Sept. 2Si 
Sept. 1 
Sent. 4 
Sept. 7 
Sept. 1 
Sept. 30 
3(3 
42 
Sept. 2 
6 
Sept. G 
37 
9 
9 
9 
9 
I 
Days. 
7 
3 
6 
1 
46 
79 
42 
3 
53 
20 
53 
4 
20 
5 
12 
Oct. 3 
Oct. 21 
Nov. 1 
25 
47 
27 
Oct. 11 
24 
134 
Nov. 11 
11 
J 
Record made at Tempe, Ariz. 
In these experiments the longest period of oviposition was 46 days, 
and the largest number of eggs laid by a single female, 131. 
It will be observed from these figures that the females observed by 
Mr. Wildermuth deposited more eggs and at a more rapid daily rate 
