Vol. XXIX December, 1915. No. 6 BIOLOGICAL BULLETIN OBSERVATIONS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF COPIDOSOMA GELECHI^E. J. T. PATTERSON. From the Marine Biological Laboratory, and the Zoological Laboratory of the University of Texas (Contribution No. 127). CONTENTS. I. Introduction 333 II. Note on the Life History of Gnorimoschema 336 III. Parasites of Gnorimoschema salinaris 340 IV. Development of Copidosoma gelechiae 341 1. Polygerm Stages 341 (a) Youngest Stages 341 (6) The Nucleated Membrane 343 (c) Precipitated Material 343 (d) The Granular Protoplasm and Embryonic Nuclei 343 (e~) Growth of the Polygerm and Formation of the Primary Divisions or Masses 344 (/) Formation of the Secondary Masses 346 (g) The Inter-embryonal Substance 346 2. Dissociation of the Polygermal Mass 347 3. Pupation, and the Emergence of the Imagines 348 4. The Abortive Embryos 349 V. Number and Sex of Copidosoma Parasites found in Gnorimoschema 352 Summary 358 Literature 359 Plates 362 I. INTRODUCTION. The discovery of polyembryonic development among certain of the hymenopterous parasites has opened up an extremely interesting field for investigation. Like most other important biological discoveries, this one was foreshadowed by the obser-vations of several different naturalists. In a paper of this nature it is not necessary to give an extended account of the history of this discovery. We shall therefore be content with a brief 333
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