THE CONCHUELA. 47 
raises and lowers its head. After withdrawing the setae from the 
boll, a downward stroke of one of the fore tibiae places them in the 
rostral groove, each tibia for this object being provided with a short 
spine located on its inner side slightly beyond the middle. 
Miscellaneous observations on feeding habits. — Twenty-six observa- 
tions gave 20 minutes as the average time the adults fed through one 
puncture in a cotton boll. The maximum length of time in these 
observations was 1 hour and 30 minutes. In his report of prelimi- 
nary investigations a on the conchuela the author presented his 
observations on the length of time adults remain on a single boll and 
on a single plant as follows: "One adult under observation in the 
field visited 4 bolls, 2 on each of 2 plants in 2 days, and remained 
for over 36 hours on the last of the 4 bolls. Another adult bug 
remained on the same boll for 2f days. Three remained on the same 
boll for over 30 hours and 3 others were found on the same plant 
30 hours after they were first recorded. In none of these cases was 
it known how long the insects had been on these plants previous to 
their first being noted." 
Abnormal predaceous and cannibalistic habits. — Starving adult con- 
chuelas confined with live caterpillars of the bollworm (Heliothis 
obsoleta Fab.) and the cotton boll cutworm (Prodenia orniihogaUi 
Guen.) failed to exhibit any indication of carnivorous habits. Dead 
or dying insects, however, are not always refused and are sometimes 
fed upon by adults as well as by nymphs in preference to cotton bolls. 
(See feeding habits of nymphs, pp. 41-42.) On a few occasions where 
2 or more adults have been confined together in breeding cages, 
dead or dying specimens have been fed upon by the survivors of the 
lot. All evidence at hand goes to show that in the field the adult 
conchuelas are entirely phytophagous. 
GREC.ARIOUSNESS. 
The gregarious habit exhibited by the conchuela, like its habit of 
occupying a conspicuous position on the plant, is of considerable 
importance in its control. The author has previously noted 6 this 
striking feature, basing the records on observations made at a season 
of the year when these insects were comparatively scarce. Between 
August 31 and September (), 1904, in a selected section of the cotton 
fields at Tlahualilo, 34 adults were collected on 16 plants, although 
the insects were so few that but 5 or 6 plant- out of 100 were found 
to be infested. In July. 1905, 2 other species of Pentatomids 
(Pentatoma sayi Stal and Thyarda perditor Fab.) were found associated 
with the conchuela and occurring in moderate abundance on the 
"Bui. 5-t. Bur. Km.. V . s. Dept. A-r.. p. 26, L905. 
