170 E. T. BROWNE ON A SPECIES OF ORTHEZIA. 



weeks. Two females, after having spent three weeks in a cork-cell, 

 were chloroformed, and mounted as dry objects. I was greatly sur- 

 prised, on looking at the slide a week afterwards, to find one of the 

 females alive, and twenty young Orthezia, all alive and doing 

 well. 



The Orthezia which I am exhibiting to-night were first seen 

 about twelve months ago, on a Strobilanihes, a Chinese plant, 

 which has been in the Economic House about three years. 



The insects have gradually been spreading, in spite of measures 

 taken to annihilate them. Now they may be found on Scutel- 

 laria, and other foreign plants in the adjoining house. • A pecu- 

 liarity of the genus Orthezia is the secretion of wax. Round 

 the body there is a waxen fringe, and the females possess a 

 large egg-pouch, or marsupium, which grows gradually from 

 the extremity of the abdomen. The eggs are laid inside the 

 marsupium, and their number increases in proportion to the size 

 of the Douch. 



By this arrangement the eggs furthest from the abdomen are the 

 first laid, and, consequently, first hatched. At the extremity of 

 the marsupium, on the upper surface, there is an opening, through 

 which the young Orthezia crawl. 



In some specimens only a very small opening exists at the 

 extremity of the marsupium, not large enough for the young to 

 crawl through. When this occurs I find a square opening is made 

 near the abdominal end of the marsupium, but I cannot say how 

 this opening is made ; to all appearance it looks as if it were 

 broken, or gnawed. 



On opening the marsupium the eggs and the young Orthezia are 

 seen. The eggs, when first laid, are white, but afterwards become 

 light brown. They are wrapped up in fine waxen fibres, resembling 

 cotton-wool. In a good-sized marsupium about 20 eggs may be 

 found, together with several young. 



The young Orthezia are scarcely visible to the naked eye, 

 and they spend their early days in the marsupium, using it as a 

 place of protection. Often they may be seen crawling about 

 their mother, and when danger threatens they crawl inside the 

 pouch. 



When young, there is a slight fringe of wax round their bodies, 

 and a few waxen tufts on the middle of their backs. 



I saw a young one go through the process of changing its skin. 



