442 MonophlebincB. 



ICERYA PILOSA, Green. 



(Plate CLXXXIII.) 



Icerya pilosa^ Green, Ind. Mus. Notes, Vol. IV. No. i, p. 7 (1896). 



Adult female {fii^s. 6, 7, and 14) crimson, the colour almost completely 

 masked, on the dorsum, by a close covering of white or creamy-white meal 

 intermingled with erect tubular filaments ; under surface paler, only lightly 

 dusted with mealy powder, except on the marginal area and on a transverse 

 band across the base of the abdomen where the secretion is more continuous. 

 Rather strongly convex above ; flattish beneath. Old examples (see yf^". 14) 

 exhibit short mealy tufts on the margin of the abdomen and a series of long 

 stout mealy processes from the ventro-marginal area, covering an ovisac which 

 extends considerably beyond the body of the insect. There is also a brush of 

 fine silky filaments, projecting backwards from the posterior extremity. Im- 

 mediately after moulting, the body is free from any secretionary covering. 

 Antenna (;f^. 19) normally nine-jointed ; but the division between the eighth 

 and ninth joints is often incomplete, and is sometimes completely suppressed. 

 In some cases there is more or less fusion between joints three and four, or 

 four and five, and occasionally these three joints are united together ; so that 

 examples may be found exhibiting six, seven, or eight joints only, instead of the 

 normal number. Joints two, three, and four are broad and more or less cylin- 

 drical ; five, six, seven, eight, and (sometimes) nine are basally constricted. 

 Eyes prominent, with a diameter slightly less than that of the first joint of the 

 antenna. Legs (Ji^- 15) well developed ; tibia approximately as long as the 

 femoral segment ; tarsus rather strongly bowed, about two-thirds the length of 

 the tibia. Claw (y?«-. 16) normally acutely falcate, the distal half usually slender; 

 but — occasionally — laterally compressed and dilated (7?^. 17). The latter form 

 may occur on any of the three pairs of limbs ; I have never observed it on all 

 the feet of any single individual, but usually (when present) on a single foot 

 only. Digitules slender, simple. Thoracic spiracles (^/^. 18) conspicuous ; 

 enclosed in a dense chitinous plate of irregular form. I have been unable to 

 detect any abdominal spiracles ; but the area where they might be expected to 

 occur is so crowded with seta^ and large dermal pores, that their presence 

 would be difficult to determine. Derm closely set with stout brownish setae ; 

 longer and more numerous on the dorsum. The smaller seta; spring from 

 simple tubercles (yfi,'". 20) ; others (larger and stouter) have their bases sur- 

 rounded by a translucent coUar {Ji^s. 32, 23) ; an intermediate form occurs in 

 which the base of the seta is sunk into the supporting tubercle (yf^. 21). Ceri- 

 ferous pores of three distinct types are present on both the dorsum and venter, 

 but are more crowded on the dorsum. The largest form {Jij^. 24) consists of a 

 circular ring, beaded at eight regular intervals on its inner edge, and set in a 

 densely chitinous plate of irregular outline ; these pores are frequently asso- 

 ciated with one of the larger collared hairs (see X^'. 23). The second form 

 (^^. 26) consists of the beaded ring alone, without any surrounding plate. The 

 third form of pore {^^s. 27, 28) is very much smaller and is surrounded by 



