UPON SCALE-INSECTS. 3$ 



Thus Webber was the first to discover Aschersonia to be 

 parasitic on insects. He considers his observations to 

 strongly indicate the general entomogenous nature of the 

 genus. Though its members have in the past been described 

 as growing (presumably parasitic) on leaves, yet it is quite 

 possible that a coccid might be the true host. The fungus in 

 its mature state so completely envelopes the scale, that the 

 remains of the latter can only be made out by examining 

 sections with a microscope. Thus unless suspicion was 

 aroused, systematists might easily be deceived and imagine 

 that the fungus was growing directly on the leaf. The 

 whole genus requires fresh study from this point of view. 



Till 1900 the genus consisted of some twenty species. 

 Recently Hennings* has added five new ones from 

 specimens received from Java. They are described as 

 usually associated with different kinds of Lecanium, which 

 they resemble in shape and colour. One of them, Ascher- 

 sonia sclerotioides, P. Henn., is definitely mentioned as being 

 situated upon a Lecanium on Castilloa elastica. It seems 

 to me that here again the fungi have probably developed on 

 the scale-insects rather than at the expense of the leaf -tissue. 



Numerous forms of Aschersonia have been found in 

 Ceylon on species of Aleurodes and Lecanium. In all cases 

 their stromata were readily detached from the foliar surface, 

 and no hypha? have been seen penetrating the leaf. 



The specimens to be described are separated into three 

 groups. Each group may represent one species or perhaps 

 more than one. The differences between forms are often so 

 indefinite, that much more study of the whole genus is 

 required before a useful separation into species can be 



attempted. 



These conidial forms grouped under Aschersonia verj 

 likely belong to the genus Hypocrella. Direct evidence 

 for this view has been given previously (see p. 29). 



* Hennings, Hedwigia, XLL, 1902, p 140. For a recent enumeration of 

 the species and an account of the genus, see Hennings. est*chnft fur I" 

 Ascherson. 70 G-ebnrtstages. 1904. p. 68. 



