Maskell. — On Coccidoe. 43 



scale of the orange " (which I take to mean also L. hesperi- 

 dum) ; but Targioni refers the insect to Aspidiotus lauri, Bouche, 

 which he first renamed Aonidia purpurea, and afterwards 

 Aonidia lauri. However, in spite of this confusion and uncer- 

 tainty, I think that it is quite convenient to accept the genus 

 Aonidia on the main, and indeed sole, ground of the compara- 

 tive size of the second pellicle. 



No species of the genus has, I think, been described from 

 1868 till now ; but Mr. Green has an insect in Ceylon which 

 clearly belongs to it, and which he proposes to name Aonidia 

 cornigcr ; and I attach to the genus the Australian species 

 which I am now about to describe. 



Aonidia fusca, sp. nov. Plate I., figs. 6-9. 



Female puparium regularly circular, very dark-brown or 

 dull-black ; slightly convex ; diameter about ^gin. The larval 

 pellicle is very small, central: the second pellicle occupies 

 nearly all the puparium, but is not to be made out until the 

 puparium is overturned ; it is larger than the adult female, 

 and also more elongated. Dorsally the whole puparium ap- 

 pears black ; but when overturned the second pellicle is seen 

 to be yellow, being covered with a coating of black secretion. 

 The margin of the puparium extends only a small distance 

 beyond the pellicle all round ; the pellicle has thus a length of 



about 4 T o m - 



Male puparium, dirty yellowish-grey, irregularly elliptical, 

 the pellicle situated near one end ; slightly convex. Length 

 about ^in., being thus larger than that of the female. 



Adult female regularly pegtop-shaped, orange-yellow ; 

 length about ^in., being therefore much smaller than the 

 second pellicle. Abdomen ending in four lobes, of which the 

 two median are the largest, and are rounded, with a small in- 

 dentation on the outer margin ; they are closely adjacent, and 

 are separated from the two smaller lobes by a narrow rounded 

 incision of the margin. Beyond the lobes are a few short fine 

 hairs. There are no groups of spinnerets, but many small 

 circular scattered single ones. 



Adult male unknown. I possess a mounted specimen of a 

 pupa in the puparium, presenting no special features. 



Hab. In Australia, on peach (Persica vulgaris). Mr. French 

 sent me the specimens, stating that they came from the 

 garden of Mr. Benson, Bulga, New South Wales. I cannot 

 discover any description of a Diaspid attacking peach-trees in 

 Europe or America which answers to this insect. It is not 

 Aspidiotus niger, Signoret ; and for the present I must con- 

 sider that it has migrated to Mr. Benson's fruit-trees from 

 some native plants in the vicinity. In "Insect Life," May, 

 1894, there is a description of Diaspis lanata, Morgan and 



