202 
Psyche 
[December 
dissected after 62 days of pregnancy and the oocytes were 1.56 mm. 
long and contained yolk. The uterine eggs were degenerating and 
were undeveloped but the oocytes had developed although the egg 
case had been in the uterus. This failure of endocrine inhibition 
during “pregnancy” was also found in Blaberus and Byrsotria (see 
below) . 
Byrsotria fumigata: The effect of various implants into the abdomi- 
nal cavities of virgins is shown in table 5. Portions of egg cases of 
Byrsotria and Leucophaea and entire oothecae of Pycnoscelus failed 
to inhibit the development of the oocytes in Byrsotria. 
Severance of the nerve cord in pregnant virgin and mated females 
resulted in resumption of oocyte development in some females (cf. figs. 
14A and C) although an ootheca was in the uterus (table 6). How- 
ever, the oocytes developed only in 7 of 24 virgins as compared to 15 
of 20 mated individuals. All of the virgins that failed to develop 
oocytes had many degenerating oocytes that had not been laid during 
the initial ovulation which may account for the negative results in 
many of these females. Of the 7 virgin females that developed their 
oocytes after nerve cord severance, 5 had no old degenerating oocytes, 
one had one old oocyte and the last had several oocytes that had 
remained from the previous oviposition. In addition to the 24 virgin 
females that had been operated upon after ovulating (table 6), 11 
females had their nerve cords severed 7 to 24 days after emergence 
and 8 others were sham operated when 5 to 20 days old. These 
females failed to oviposit and were dissected 31 to 38 days after the 
operations. Of the nerve-cord-severed females 7 had matured degener- 
ating oocytes and 4 had small oocytes with some yolk but these had 
degenerated. Of the sham operated females 5 had mature degenerated 
oocytes, 2 had small degenerated oocytes and 1 had oocytes that failed 
to develop. The oocytes in females that had been operated on prior to 
oviposition were essentially similar to those found in unoperated virgin 
females. 
Experiments were performed on several females to determine the 
effect of removing the ovipositors or relieving the pressure of the 
ootheca on the gonapophyses. The ovipositors were cut off of 9 
virgin females 6 to 26 days after oviposition. The oocytes were 
measured after the females had carried their oothecae for 75 to 84 
days. In 8 females the oocytes measured 1.62 ±0.06 mm. indicating 
no growth other than might be expected in unoperated females (1.53 
dzO.04 mm. at parturition). One female whose ovipositor was cut 
off 13 days after ovulation had oocytes 6.37 mm. after 82 days of 
pregnancy. The oothecae of 13 virgin females were partly extruded 
