INSECTS PRODUCING WAX, KESIN, HONEY, MANNA. 69 



which, he said, could be produced in any quantity, 

 near Madras, at a much cheaper rate than beeswax. 

 And from De Azara's observations, a similar wax- 

 producing Coccus appears to abound on a small shrub 

 in South America. 



So many trees (Palms, and Myrica, and Rhus 

 especially) are known to produce excellent wax 

 without the aid of any insect, that we cannot always 

 decide at first whether this substance is the product 

 of the plant or of the insect. 



Molina has shown that at Coquimbo in Chili 

 large quantities of resin are produced by several 

 species of the shrub Origanum, as a consequence of 

 the bite of an insect. The latter is a small red 

 caterpillar which changes into a yellowish moth with 

 black stripes on its wings (Phalcena ceraria, Mol.) 

 Early in the spring vast numbers of these caterpil- 

 lars collect upon the branches and buds of the tree, 

 where they form cells of a kind of white wax or 

 resin ; and in these cells they undergo their meta- 

 morphoses. The wax, which at first is very white, 

 becomes gradually yellow and then brown. It is 

 collected by the inhabitants in autumn ; they boil it 

 in water, and make it up into cakes, which go into 

 the markets. They use this wax instead of tar for 

 their boats. 



There exists at Sumatra a species of winged ant 

 that produces a sort of grey wax. A sample of this 



