72 



:Maich. 1897 



Lecanium ole^, Bern. — Typical examples occurred rather plenti- 

 fully upon plants of Aralia elegantissima. A few scales on Croton 

 eJuteria (cascarilla bark, from W. Indies), though rather smaller and 

 more rugose than the type, can hardly be separated from this species. 

 They answer also to the description of L. testudo, Curt., as defined by 

 Mr. Douglas from examples taken in Kew Gardens on Brexia. Mr. 

 Douglas points out the similarity of the two species, and I note that 

 Prof. Cockerell, in his recent Check-List, has classed testudo as a 

 variety of olece. Mr. Douglas mentions that the chief apparent 

 difference is that olece bears smaller white specks on the scale ; but 

 these specks being merely a waxy secretion, their comparative size 

 cannot be considered of specific importance. Upon leaves of Avicen- 

 nia nitida (the white mangrove, from Brazil) I found a still smaller 

 form that I am unable to separate from the above species, and the 

 same small form occurred on JEIceodendron orientale, Carissa spinarum, 

 and Catesbcsa spinosa. This form has the white waxy flakes very 

 prominent and conspicuous. These flakes are, I believe, remnants of 

 an earlier test, which has become broken up and the parts separated 

 by the growth of the insect. Consequently, in the large well-developed 

 typical form they will be more widely separate and apparently smaller ; 

 while in the small stunted examples the separation between the parts 

 is not so great, and, in comparison with the size of the insects, the 

 specks appear large and prominent. Upon the '' white mangrove " I 

 found a few of the ^ puparia. As is not unusual in the Lecaniince, 

 examples of the male are not at all common. Dr. Signoret had seen 

 only females, and Prof. Comstock states that he had 

 failed to find any of the males in America. Dr. Antonio 

 Berlese in his recent work (Le Cocciniglie Italiane 

 viventi gugli Agrumi) figures the male puparium. The 

 ^ scales referred to above were all empty, except one, 

 which covered a pale greenish pupa with dark brown, 

 median, longitudinal stripe. The scale was of the 

 usual form (fig. 2), colourless, transparent, glassy, 

 studded with irregular waxy plates, as in the $ , those 

 on the median line being most defined and very 

 prominent. 



PuLViNAniA FLOCciFEEA, Wcstwood. — Upou the leaves of two 

 orchids, Auguloa Cloivesii Siud Lt/casfe Skinneri — the insects apparently 

 preferring these two species from amongst the many others in the house 

 — I found numerous specimens of a,Fulvinaria with a long flattish fluted 



Fig. 2. 



