356 NOTES ON THE FAMILY BRACHYSCELID^, 



that survive after escaping from the gall immediately bury them- 

 selves in the bark or leaves, and commence a fresh crop of young 

 galls. I believe that the virgin female is cai)able of bringing forth 

 larvae, as I have frequently found clusters of active larvje in the 

 chamber with the perfect and evidently unimpregnated female 

 coccid. 



The male of Brachyscelis [e.g. of B. mu7iita] is a very beautiful 

 little two-winged creature, not much more than half a line in 

 length, having many jointed antennse as long as the whole length 

 of the head, thorax, and abdomen combined, terminating in three 

 hairs or filaments ; the joints of the antennae are short and the 

 divisions indistinct. The eyes are black, globular, and very 

 prominent, divided from each other, as looked at from above, by a 

 wedge-shaped bar between, widest in front. The prothorax is 

 rounded, broadest in front, bright yellow, and shining ; the wings 

 are large, round at the tips, constricted at their junction with the 

 shoulder, and bear a strong costal (transverse of Ashmead) 

 nervure with a fainter one (discoidal of Ashmead) across to the 

 apex of the under side of wing, forming an elongated V, The 

 legs are long, the femora robust, the tibiae slender, the tarsi short. 

 The abdomen consists of eight constricted segments, and a small 

 pointed anal one bearing the genitalia ; from either side of the 

 eighth segment shoots out a long white filament, twice the length 

 of the whole insect ; the whole covered with scattered white hairs. 



The perfect males are very delicate, and their galls are so small 

 that it is very difficult to breed them out ; but of three very 

 distinct species of galls from which I have obtained specimens of 

 the insects, I can find no difference in any particular in the perfect 

 males. The characters of the males, therefore, seem to me unim- 

 portant in discriminating species. To a casual observer the female 

 coccids would appear very much alike, but though there is a very 

 strong general resemblance in most cases, there are, besides the 

 difference in form, several very good specific peculiarities: firstly, 

 in the form, shape, and situation of the anal appendages; secondly, 

 in the hairy coating on the abdominal segments ; and thirdly, in 

 the number, shape, and regularity of the distribution of the 



