LAC AND COCHINEAL INSECTS. 745 



In trade, the Coccidre are familiar as being the producers of 

 a sort of wax (which is more used in China than in England), 

 of the useful substance called " lac," and, above all, of the in- 

 valuable " cochineal" dye. The first of these species is shown 

 in the illustration. The male is very small, winged, and flies 

 freely in search of a mate, whereas the female is fixed to one 

 spot, dies there, and her withered body becomes the shelter of 

 her young. 



From the body of the female is exuded a wonderful amount 

 of a white secretion, which, when collected, melted down, and 

 strained, has many of the properties of wax, and is generally 

 called by that name. In the British ]\Iuseura there are many 

 specimens of the insect, together with a lump of the wax, which 

 looks almost exactly like spermaceti. There are also specimens 

 of other wax-making Coccidije, mostly belonging to the genus 

 Ceroplastes, of the Lac Insects, and the Cochineal. 



The last of the Homoptera which can be described in this 





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Bk 1 ^ --( ill 1 11 1^ W p&twoodii. 

 (Pak liiowu , wlutt tiain) 



work is an example of the singular genus Callipappus, a male 

 of which is here shown. 



As to the female, she is simply hideous. She is a big, black, 



