1927] Notes on the Mite Pediculoides ventricosus Newport 159 
of the weevil and placed in rearing tubes of glass, closed at one 
end with plaster of Paris and at the other with cotton. During 
October and November the prepupae showed no evidences of 
attack by Pediculoides. In the tubes there was considerable 
debris, consisting of wisps of wood formed by the weevil larvae, 
and particles of decayed bark. Without doubt, mites were in 
the debris at this time but they were unnoticed. The tubes were 
kept outdoors until the end of December and were then placed 
in a greenhouse at a temperature of 60° F. or more, while the 
prepupae still appeared perfectly healthy. In mid- January, 
Fig. 1 At left, Eurytoma prepupa infested with mites; at right, gravid female of Pediculoides 
ventricosus. 
when a number of the prepupae turned lemon yellow, they were 
culled from the tubes and isolated. Within three or four days, 
there appeared upon the surface of each yellow prepupa, one or 
two characteristic, pale yellow spheres, the abdomens of the 
mites. Within a week the number had increased to three or 
four, and at the end of three weeks the number was ten to 
twenty. From this time, the prepupae decreased in size slowly, 
while the number of new mites apparently did not increase as 
rapidly as before. The figure shows a prepupa after six or seven 
weeks. It has lost more than half its size and the wrinkled sur- 
face is covered with mites. The spheres in the background are 
the abdomens of mites that have fallen off in the preparation of 
the material for photographing, since they are easily dislodged 
