1934 ] 
A Psychid New to North America 
25 
assisted by the metathoracic legs, the tibia and tarsus of 
which are still within her bag, and probably facilitate the 
reinsertion of the ovipositor by acting as a guide. The eggs 
are pale in color and very delicate, and are deposited by 
means of the extremely manoeuverable, telescopic ovipos- 
itor, which, when fully extended, equals the length of the 
remainder of the female’s body. When the last of her 150- 
odd eggs have been deposited, the female withdraws her 
ovipositor, closing the opening to her egg-filled pupa-shell 
with a plug of fuzz from the tip of her abdomen ; she then 
relinquishes her hold on the bag, and drops to the ground 
to die. The eggs hatch in thirteen to fifteen days, the young 
larvae leaving the parental bag via its open end. 
Dispersal. Since the adult female is incapable of flight 
or other locomotion, the dispersal of the species depends on 
the wanderings of the larvae, and especially their transpor- 
tation by other agencies. Just as human beings have un- 
wittingly brought this insect to America, so, too, its dis- 
persal within America is probably greatly assisted by man’s 
conveyances. Another factor in the dispersal is the wind; 
as soon as the newly hatched larvae have constructed their 
tiny cases, they have the habit of dropping themselves down 
on a silken thread, in which condition they are easily picked 
up by wind currents to be dropped perhaps at some dis- 
tance away. Since evidence indicates a sojourn of the in- 
sect in this country of at least two decades, with these vari- 
ous factors aiding in its distribution, the insect probably 
will soon be found in many, and possibly widely separated 
localities. 
Parthenogenesis and Preponderance of One Sex. Al- 
though parthenogenesis has been recorded in the genus Fu- 
mea in Europe — and, indeed, has been reported in Fumea 
casta (Fauna Boica II, 91, Schrank) — no evidence of this 
phenomenon has been observed in Massachusetts casta. 
Fifteen unmated females from the Boston colony were iso- 
lated in an experiment designed to detect evidences of par- 
thenogenesis. All died without ovipositing, within five 
days after emergence. 
In both Europe and America, authors have remarked 
upon the occasional striking preponderance of one sex over 
