STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETT 
070 
VAPORER MOTH. EGOS. A PARASITE DESTROYS THE EGGS. 
of a yellowish white color, which form pale bands on the edges of the 
abdominal sutures and a faint pale stripe along the middle of the back. 
The rudiments of the wings appear on each side of the thorax, in the form 
of small oval scales of a hoary gray color, which is the color of the legs 
also. The-antennas resemble short gray threads reaching only to the wing 
sockets, when they are turned backwards. Along their under side they are 
dark brown, with projecting sharp-pointed teeth, like those of a saw. 
The female remains stationary upon her cocoon and there deposits her 
eggs, whereby her body becomes diminished nearly one-third from its origi¬ 
nal size. This operation so exhausts her that as soon as it is completed 
she looses her hold upon the cocoon and falls to the ground and dies. She 
thus lives only about twenty-four hours in her mature state, whilst the 
male continues to fly about, actively, for several days at least. 
In one instance a female lost her foothold upon the cocoon, and falling, 
caught hold of the clapboard a short distance below it; and I relate the 
circumstance as showing how very little these wingless females are able to 
walk and movo about, that she did not attempt to crawl back to the cocoon, 
but, clinging to the spot where she was, deposited her eggs there, upon the 
smooth surface of the board, only three inches below the cocoon. 
The Eggs are placed in a cluster side by side, in nearly regular rows upon 
the outside of the cocoon, to which they are firmly glued. They are of a 
white color, like enamel, and of a globular form, with their upper part con¬ 
stricted and flattened, resembling a lid placed upon the summit of the egg. 
This lid is of a purer white color and opake, with a discolored band around 
its outer edge and with its center strongly depressed, forming a dimple, in 
which is a glossy pale brown dot. 
The eggs are left naked and not covered over with the white frothy sub¬ 
stance with which the female of the leucostigma covers and hides her eggs. 
And being left thus exposed, these eggs fall a prey to a minute parasitic 
insect, a black shining four-winged fly with pale tarnished yellow legs, which 
pertains to the Order Hymenoptera, the Family Phoctrotrupid.e and the group 
Pi.atygastrides. In its size and general appearance it is very similar to 
the Mistaken Parasite, figured in my Sixth Report (Plate 1, fig. 4), and I 
name it the Egg-Parasite of the Vaporer Moth, although it is quite probable 
that future researches will show that it is not restricted to these insects 
hut preys also upon the eggs of other moths of similar size. It differs 
generically from the Mistaken Parasite, in having a straight oblique branch 
given oft' frqm near the middle of the outer marginal vein of the fore wings. 
I present a detailed description of this fly. 
Eog-Parasitb op the Vaporer Moth, Telenomus Orgyice, now species. (Ilymcnoptera. 
Prostotrupid®.) 
Length 0.03, or to tho ond of the closed wings 0.05. Black and shining, with the legs dull 
pale yellowish. Head as broad as the thorax, twice ns broad as long, convex in front, concave 
at base, and rounded on each side, its surface sparsely bearded, at least in places, with short 
inclined hairs j tho eyes more donsoly and ovonly boarded with short oreot hairs. Antonnte black, 
elothod with a short inclined beard, half as long as tho body, inserted near tho mouth, olbowod, 
clavated, ton-jointed, tho fivo last joints forming an elongated egg-shaped club.. Basal joint 
long and thick, oooupying one-third of tho total length, slightly curved, rathor thickest in tho 
