Maskell. — On Coccididse. 239 



rounded, sometimes with the sides corrugated as if with 

 radiating buttresses ; the marginal region is spread out rather 

 flat, but often wrinkled, and the margin itself is usually slightly 

 thickened. The normal outline of a test is subcircular or 

 elliptical, but sometimes three or four have the margins con- 

 joined and as if forming one mass. At the dorsal apex there 

 is a small orifice. Colour of the test yellowish- or reddish- 

 brown ; the external diameter averages about ^yin. "When 

 the test and the insect are removed a small slightly-depressed 

 scar is left in the bark, covered with very thin white meal. 

 Between the test and the dorsum of the insect, and not closely 

 attached to either, there is a small, circular, thin, white, waxy 

 indusium, which covers the central portion of the dorsum. 

 The female insect is reddish-brown, filling the test ; diameter 

 about -g^in. ; the dorsal region is rather darker than the ven- 

 tral ; the body is rather thick, subcircular, and slightly de- 

 pressed. Antennas slightly tapering, of six short subequal 

 joints, on the last of which are some longish hairs. At first 

 sight there seem to be only two feet, but on examination it is 

 found that the four anterior ones are much smaller and shorter 

 than the posterior pair, which thus appear abnormally large. 

 The four anterior feet are themselves rather swollen, the 

 joints rather thick and wrinkled ; the claws are not large, and 

 lean only make out the tarsal digitules ; on the trochanter 

 is a long hair. The posterior feet, though large, have not 

 entirely the swollen appearance of the others, and the joints 

 are less wrinkled, but the claw is atrophied and can only 

 be made out with difficulty ; tarsal digitules rather long fine 

 hairs, the lower pair absent. The dorsal region bears a very 

 large number of irregularly-elliptical cells, amongst which are 

 some fine spiny hairs ; and round the margin is a ring of sub- 

 conical rather thick spines, those at the posterior extremity" 

 being the longest and largest. The ventral epidermis bears 

 fine spiny hairs interspersed with some small circular orifices. 

 The mentum appears to be dimerous. Anogenital ring rather 

 large, simple, hairless ; close to it there seem to be two very 

 short setae. 



Female of second stage and larva not observed. 



Male unknown. 



Hab. In Australia, on Eucalyptus sp. Specimens sent by 

 Mr. French from Myrniong, Victoria. The pieces of bark for- 

 warded are covered with numbers of the little brown tests. I 

 think the normal appearance of the bark would be smooth and 

 light-grey, but the Coccicls look like an eruption of pustules on 

 the surface. Mr. French tells me that the insect does much 

 damage to the trees. 



I cannot put this insect into any other genus than Sjihcero- 

 coccas at present. Only one Coccid is known to me so far 



