202 Transactions. — Zoology. 



have a craze for the making of species on the slightest provo- 

 cation. Still, any one who would imagine the Homoptera to 

 be a small or unimportant order would be much mistaken. 

 Coccids are but one family of that order, and have only been 

 really studied for some thirty years ; but of that alone nearly 

 seven hundred species are now known (1892), and scores of others 

 are sure to be discovered every year. The Aphids, Psyllids, and 

 Aleurodids have as yet been scarcely touched ; the Cicadids and 

 other families are constantly receiving additions. It would 

 probably not be an exaggeration to estimate that there are 

 from twenty to thirty thousand species of Homoptera existing 

 in various countries, not more than a seventh of which, per- 

 haps, have been made known to science up fco the present 

 day. 



There would seem to be a quite sufficient field here for the 

 entomological student. As regards New Zealand, I have 

 myself described eighty species of Coccids, four of Psyllids, 

 and five of Aleurodids, all of which may be considered as indi- 

 genous, besides several exotic introduced species. Certainly 

 the two last families, and probably the first, are still more 

 largely represented in this country, and nobody has yet made 

 any investigation of the Aphids. I hope therefore that ere 

 long the New Zealand Homoptera will receive the attention 

 to which their importance clearly entitles them. 



It is satisfactory to note that since 1870 the number of 

 homopterologists has been steadily increasing. At that time, 

 with the exception of Signoret, Lichtenstein, Bouche, and 

 Fitch, scarcely anybody studied the order. Now the workers 

 are numerous, either as collectors or describers, and they 

 are spread all over the world. In Europe excellent work has 

 been done by Douglas, Morgan, Low, Newstead, Buckton, 

 Targioni ; in America, by Riley, Howard, Koebele, Comstock, 

 Coquillett, &c. ; in India, by Atkinson, Cotes, Nietner, Green ; 

 in Australia, by French, Olliff, Tepper ; and in New Zealand I 

 have received great help from Messrs. Baithby, Smith, and 

 others. Some of these have turned their attention chiefly to 

 that very important branch, the economic relations of the 

 Homoptera to agriculture ; others confine themselves to the 

 purely scientific side of entomology. But the result is that 

 the order is being better studied every year, and I look forward 

 to the time when it will receive its due share of attention in 

 New Zealand also. 



The following pages contain notes upon several insects 

 already described, and also descriptions of more than thirty 

 new species. The majority I owe to an occurrence which 

 deserves particular mention. It will be remembered that 

 after my publication in 1878 of an account of Iccrya purchasi 

 that pest became so obnoxious in various countries that uni- 



