352 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



suppose that those Physokermes larvae, which already when quite young 

 felt themselves attacked by the parasite, did not seek the usual place in 

 the axils of the lower leaves but attached themselves on the leaves. It is 

 worth mentioning that I never obtained the above-mentioned Aphycus 

 species from the developed females of Physokermes. 



My own experience with the Encyrtinae and Aphelininae infest 

 ing Coccidas has been rather extensive, and I have taken an especial 

 interest in these insects since the publication of my paper in iSSo 

 on the parasites of the Coccidae. This experience leads me to 

 believe that Aurivillius' generalization will not hold. In certain 

 cases, such as those which he specially mentions, the males may 

 be exclusively attacked and in others the majority of the eggs may 

 be laid upon the female sufficiently late to enable her to oviposit 

 as freely as if she had not been attacked. In many other cases, 

 however, and these form the majority in my experience, the 

 females are pierced by their parasites at all stages of growth, and 

 when thus pierced growth is arrested. For example, in the case 

 of the common cosmopolitan Lecanium hespevidum, which here 

 at Washington is extensively infested by Coccophagus lecctnii, the 

 female Coccid blackened by the contained parasite may be found 

 at almost all stages of growth, at the proper season of the year, 

 upon almost any ivy leaf which one may examine. From the 

 smallest of these infested individuals, but a single specimen of the 

 Coccophagus will be reared, while from the largest as many as six 

 parasites may issue. Again, the very common Aphelinus mytil- 

 aspidis issues frequently from the females of -Mytilaspis pomorum 

 before they have passed the last moult ; an undescribed species of 

 Aphycus has been reared from females of Chionaspis euonymi 

 before these have reached maturity, and it is a common thing to 

 rear small specimens of Comys fusca from immature specimens 

 of several species of the hemispherical group of the genus Lecan 

 ium. In fact, 'a glance through the collection of Coccidaa in the 

 National Museum reveals so many instances of this kind that it 

 would be wearisome to note half of them. I am convinced, there 

 fore, that as a generalization Professor Aurivillius' statement is 

 not warranted, however true it may be of the Aphycus which he 

 has reared from Physokermes or of his most peculiar and interest 

 ing genus Arrhenophagus infesting Chionaspis salicis. 



Prof. Riley said he could confirm all Mr. Howard's remarks 

 from his own experience, and that there could be no question but 

 that Aurivillius had made but fragmentary observations and gen 

 eralized from them. Mr. Ashmead agreed with the previous 

 speakers and described a peculiarity in the male of Physokermes 

 which would make this sex much more liable to parasitism than 



