Maskell. — 0)1 Coccididae. 51 



genus it may hereafter be found to belong to. I think I have 

 placed it correctly in Gcelostonia, on account of the absence of 

 a rostrum and the tapering form of the antennae. There is no 

 doubt of its being a Monophlebid ; but further examination, 

 especially of the earlier stages and of the male, is required for 

 absolute certainty. 



My specimens do not exhibit any signs of a cottony en- 

 velope or of an ovisac, except in the very small quantities 

 mentioned above ; but I should not like to say that in the 

 natural state they may not excrete a good deal. 



Genus Monophlebus, Leach. 



Monophlebus crawfordi, Maskell. Trans. Roy. Soc. South 

 Australia, 1887, p. 108; N.Z. Trans., vol. xxiii., p. 28. 

 Plate XI., figs. 13-15. 



In my paper of last year I expressed doubts whether the 

 "long white setous anal hairs" spokeu of by Mr. Koebele 

 belonged really to the adult stage of this insect. Since then 

 I have had opportunities of examining three more adult 

 females, and, although each of them lived for several weeks, 

 no signs of such setas appeared. The very tine female men- 

 tioned last year as being sent to me in April remained alive, 

 but seemingly unchanged in condition, until September, when 

 it began to excrete some long thin curling j-ellowish threads 

 from various portions of the dorsum ; and towards the end of 

 the month indications of a posterior cottony sac became 

 noticeable. These were only slight until the 20th October, 

 when she began to excrete a much larger number of dorsal 

 threads, and also to increase the sac, which grew in size 

 until near the end of November : the sac was not of any 

 definite form and w'as loose in texture, and as its growth pro- 

 gressed the insect became gradually raised up a tergo, as in 

 Icerya. On the 2nd November I noticed the first eggs de- 

 posited in the sac, and thence to the 25th November the eggs 

 came forth in great numbers, of the usual elliptical form and 

 red colour : as oviposition continued the female shrivelled up, 

 until at the end of November its formerly large red bod}' was 

 scarcely to be made out in the loose cottony mass. 



I was anxious to watch the proceedings of this insect 

 with some care, because I supposed it possible that before 

 capture in Sydney she might perhaps have been visited by a 

 male ; and I wanted to compare her with Ccelostovia com- 

 2)ressuvi, also ovipositing (certamly without any male) about 

 the same time. I saw no change in the eggs of the Mono- 

 l}hlebns until the 15th February of this year, when one larva 

 was found crawling on the ghiss top of the box : by tlie 17th 

 several scores had emerged, and by tlie 20th probably some 



