186 
IQWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 
obtrusive collector. As a matter of fact this proves to be only 
a remarkable adaptation to its food plant (Elymus) in color, 
form and life-history. 
The linear aspect and dark dorsal stripe, more or less broken 
or obscured, harmonize so well with the ordinary rusty Elymus 
stem to which it closely adheres and from which it can scarcely 
be driven, either in larval or adult stage, that it is detected 
with great difficulty. They rely on this mimicry for protection 
rather than upon flight or leaping. So perfect is this protec- 
tion that one may look for some lime at a few stems of grass 
where dozens of the insects are known to occur and fail to 
locate them. 
The figure shows the distinctive features sufficiently and a 
full description is unnecessary here, but it may be proper to call 
attention to the fact that there are two forms of females, one 
having the elytra very short (wings proper rudimentarj^), as 
figured, the other with much longer wings and smaller body 
and more pointed rostrum, more closely resembling male. This 
flies readily while the other is entirely incapable of flight and 
never leaves the plant on which it is hatched. The males are 
all long-winged. 
It is single brooded, the adults appearing about the middle 
of May and continuing in decreasing numbers until the end of 
July. During the last week in May and the first week in June 
the eggs are deposited; the female selects a spot about two 
inches above the base of the first or second leaf from the bot- 
tom ; having selected the spot apparently with much care, she 
takes her position head upwards, legs placed close together 
and tarsi clasping the stem; then, raising the body the length 
of her legs and curving the abdomen upward, she unsheathes 
the ovipositor from the pygofers and brings its tip down against 
the grass stalk, pointing backward slightly from the perpen- 
dicular; she then moves slowly around the stem keeping the 
body parallel with it and the guides pressed firmly against it 
until they catch under the edge of the encircling leaf sheath;, 
having done this they are gradually forced under the sheath, 
usually extending almost half way round the stem. As they 
are gradually forced in the abdomen straightens and then hol- 
lows until, when the ovipositor is fully inserted, the abdomen 
is curved down and the pygofers are pointed upward and back- 
ward at more than a right angle with the guides. Haviog 
reached this position she works slowly backwards, opening the 
