LirE HiSTOBi' AND HABITS. 41 
the cold rooms, contained only semidormant beetles, but after being 
placed in the sun for a time the beetles very soon became active and 
copulation took place. When the cages were returned to the cold 
rooms it was only a few moments until copulation ceased and the 
beetles became sluggish again. 
The method of mating of these beetles seems to be more or less 
unique. The male shows no signs of excitement until he comes in 
contact with the female, and then he rapidly attempts copulation. 
After the male has assumed his position he throws himself over back- 
ward so that he is on his back with his body in the same line with 
that of the female, but pointing in the opposite direction. The 
male then folds his legs and antennae close against his body and 
remains quiescent during the operation. If disturbed the female 
seeks shelter, walking slowly and dragging the male after her. The 
duration of the process varied greatly in the cases noted, covering 
from 7 to 19 minutes. After the operation the male was generally 
noted to be much more active than the female, but was not seen to 
attempt copulation a second time, even where the pair were confined 
in a small vial for some hours. 
Much of the copulation attempted in the cages was unsuccessful, 
about nine attempts out of every ten coming under this head. When- 
ever several males were attempting copulation wdth the same female 
at the same time they were noted to fight one another. 
About April 1, 1912, the abdomens of the females began to swell 
noticeably and a close watch was kept for the eggs. Every day 
about six females were dissected so that the development of the eggs 
could be watched. The immature eggs were small and disk-shaped, 
being little more than half as large as the mature eggs. They ap- 
peared as opaque spots in the translucent jellylike ovaries, which 
filled quite completely the ventral portion of the abdomen. The 
development of the eggs was relatively slow, the greatest change 
appearing in the ovaries, which increased rapidly in size until at 
the time of oviposition they practically filled the abdomen. 
ACTIONS OF THE ADULTS AFTER MATING. 
During the last week before oviposition the females spent all their 
time burrowing under the soil, and were never noted feeding or on 
the surface. Whenever they were dug up they immediately buried 
themselves again. If the ground was not allowed to dry out too 
much the females remained active and healthy, but in several cells 
in which the soil completely dried out the females died . 
The males did nothing but feed and crawl about on the surface. 
They lived, on the average, from two to four weeks after mating, so 
it seems possible that one male might fertilize more than one female. 
