Article beginning on page 315.
Psyche 7:315, 1894.

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'December 1895.J PS2FCHE. 315
an appreciable distance from the base
of radius. This wing also shows the
unity at the base of the wing of the two main branches of cubitus.
In the examination of a considerable
number of wings from various orders of
insects I have noted that anal veins
arise from certain tracheal trunks or
often apparently from one main trunk
which divides at the base of the wing
into several or many branches or rays ;
and that this main anal trunk is distinct from the main trunk or trunks which
run into the pre-anal area of the wing,
and which are the foundations of the
principal longitudinal veins of the pre- anal area. in the wing of Hexagenia
the veins corresponding to those veins
marked " anal " in figure 4 are supplied with tracheae from one main trunk,
thc anal area trunk, while the first vein in front of these anal veins (called by
me part of cubitus) does not receive a
branch from this main anal trunk.
ON THE NEST AND PARASITES OF PROSOPIS VARIFRONS CRESSON.
BY A. DAVIDSON, M.D., LOS ANGELES, CAL.
This bee and Ceratina dwpla are the
most common ones that tunnel in the
shoots of the elder and mustard in this
locality. The cells are built in stems
which the parent herself has hollowed
out, and measure on an average 4 lines
long, by 2 or 3 wide. They are lined
with a thin, transparent layer of silk
which is spun by the parent bee, and
are filled three-fourths full with the
light yellow semi-fluid bee-food. The
egg is laid on top of this mass, and the cell is closed by the same silken tissue which, in its turn, forms the base of the succeeding cell. The last of the series, when finished, is further protected by a layer of pith of variable depth. The
cells are probably normally built con-
tiguously, but a few sometimes have
partitions of pith, which may be the
work of more than one bee.
Two broods at least are produced
annually.
By splitting the twigs con-
taining the cells I was enabled to watch the larvae pass through their various
stages, and in a series gathered on
May 5 at Manzana, in the Antelope
Valley, all of which were apparently
newly constructed, the food was con-
sumed in 8 days after the hatching of
the egg. The larvae at this stage are
quite active, and in their restlessness a few of them burst through the lining of
the cell on the exposed side and made
their escape. During this period of
activity they void a small quantity of
excrement which, being limited to one
end of the cell, simulates an artificial partition between the cells.
In lhm four to six days after the
food wns consumed they passed into
the pupa stage, and on June 9th with
two exceptions all had taken their
flight, the time occupied in passing




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316 l'sYc//å£ [December 1895.
through all the stages being but thirty
five days. Whether one or inore
broods arc raised before the one that
lives thro~igli the minter. I am unable
to say, though it may reasonably be
presumed that such is the case. The
last brood remains in the larval .stage
throughout the winter, usually emerging' as adults in the latter half of April.
r 7
I he parasites affecting this insect are all of small size, and one cell in four on an average is aticctecl. Those bred by
the writer are as follows :
Chi-ysis pam~;la Fabr. Two spec-
imens.
Encyrius sp? These tiny parasites
had attacked the larva of the bee, con-
suming the whole interior and leaving
the skin intact. Within this covering
the pupae of the parasite, from 10 to 1 j in number, were closely packed. The
adults issued in the last week of Feb-
ruary and the first week in May.
Aetroxys amdz's Ashmead 11. sp.
I I specimens.
9. Length 5.5 mm. Bronzv green, scaly
punctate, the tip of the abdomen yellowish; scape and legs, except coxae, ferr~iginoiis, the knees, tips of tibiae and tarsi more yel- lowisl~, Wings hyaline, the veins pale
brown, the marginillvein about one and one- half times as long as the ~Ligmxl, the post marginal vein -cis long å£i or ;>lightly longer than the marginal. Abdomen very long
acuminate, fu1l.y twice as long fis the heid and thorax united.
8.' Length 2 to 2.5 mm. Differs only in
the shape of the abdomen which is elongate and only one-third longer tbiin tlie head and thorax united, while the flagellum is filiform, pi~hescent, the first joint !lie longest,joinls 3 to .j suheqnal, about twice as long ;is thick. Mr. Ashmc;id, in a note appended to
this description, s:iys : " The antennae in the 9 are broken off at the pedicel,
and I am therefore unable to tell to
what si~bgenus of Aetroxys it belongs.
The very long' ahdomen, wliich is
tipped with yellow, readily distinguishes the species."
These eleven specimens were bred
from six cells, five occupying one, and
two each of the other three cells. On
pupating they adhered to get he^ by the
tip of the abdomen in one miiss. All
issued May 29.
THE NUMBER OF STAGES IN APATELODES TORREFACTA. BY HARRISON G. DYAR, SEW YORK CITY.
I have already referred to the varying
number of stages in this species (Psyche, vi, 146) as found by different authors;
Miss Soule finding five and Dr. Pack-
ard six, while I presented evidence indi- cating eight stages. I returned to the
subject last summer, as I succeeded in
obtaining eggs by the assistance of
Mr. Jacob Doll from whom I purchased
living pupae and,Miss Emily L. Mor-
ton who very kindly attended to the
matin: of the moths bred from them.
The larvae exhibited five stages, but a
consideration of the width of the head
makes the whole matter clear. I gave
the following series as probible, in my




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