266 
Psyche 
[September 
The nymphs for laboratory rearing were considered to be first in- 
star for the following reasons: of 81 nymphs collected from the 
webs and measured, none was below the size range for the first instar 
given in Table i ; of the 43 considered to be in the first instar group, 
32 were placed in cages for rearing, and none had more than five 
molts to reach maturity; it is unlikely that any time was spent off 
the webs since the insects were unable to stay upright except on the 
spider silk. 
Both nymphs and adults had trouble walking on a flat surface; 
they fell onto their backs and were unable to right themselves. Since 
this led initially to many deaths, webbing was added to the cages 
by placing an immature spider in the cage and allowing it to spin 
a web. The spider was then replaced by a mirid. 
Daily records were kept on the number of instars, number and 
time of molts, the time spent in each instar, adult longevity, and type 
of food used. 
Food used in rearing both nymphs and adults was one or more of 
three types. Fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster , were cultured and 
frozen at an earlier time, then thawed before being placed in the 
cages. Honeysuckle stamens were taken from the hedge where the 
mirids occurred. Abscissed avocado flower buds, also observed as 
food for the mirids in the field, were collected from a tree shading 
the hedge. 
In an effort to corroborate Bristowe’s (1941) statement that the 
flavor of many bugs renders them immune from attack by spiders, 
spiders and mirids were placed together in small cages provided with 
water and honeysuckle stamens to see if the mirids would be eaten. 
Eleven such trials were carried out, using first and second instar 
nymphs and immature agelenids. 
Results 
Nymphal Stages and Feeding Trials 
Twenty nymphs were reared to maturity (Table 1), with measure- 
ment of nymphal development time starting on the day of collection. 
The average number of days spent in each instar was 3.8, 4.0, 5.0, 
5.4 and 8.1 days, with completion of the entire nymphal development 
in an average of 26.3 days. 
The males took an average of 25.6 days to complete their develop- 
ment while the females required an average of exactly 1 day more. 
The effects of the diets on maturation are shown in Table 2. 
Females reared on avocado buds reached adulthood in an average of 
29.3 days, 6 days longer than those fed on Drosophila only. A single 
