1915.] X75 



OBSEEVATIONS ON BEITISH COCCIDAE IN 1914, 

 WITH DESCEIPTIONS OF NEW SPECIES. 



BY E. ERNEST GREEN, F.Z.S., F.E.S. 



(Plates XV— XVII). 



I recently puhlislied in this Magazine (Vol. L, p. 197, 1914) the 

 description of a new British Coccid, \inder the name of Kuwania 

 hritannica. I have since received, from Prof. T. D. A. Cockerell, 

 photomicrographs of Steingelia gorodetskia of Nassonow, which have 

 convinced me that my insect is identical with that species. I still 

 maintain, however, that the species should be included in the genus 

 Kuwania. The only possible excuse lor separation is the number of 

 antennal joints, which is 8 in Steingelia gorodetshia, and 9 in typical 

 species of Kuwania. This difference appears to me to be of scarcely 

 more than specific value or, at the most, might warrant the erection of 

 a sub-genus. If this view is accepted, the name should now stand as 

 Kuwania (Steingelia) gorodetskia (Nassonow). 



Nassonow's specimens were taken in Russia, and this is the only 

 locality quoted. The discovery of the insect in England is, therefore, 

 still of considerable interest. It remains a,n addition to the British 

 fauna, although its claim to scientific novelty must be abandoned. 



Eriococcus devoniensis Green. 



In the same paper I mentioned finding an Eriococcus on Erica 

 that would probably prove to be devoniensis, hitherto recorded only 

 from Budleigh Salterton. This supposition has turned out to be 

 correct. At the time immature and early adult females only had been 

 found. Even in this stage the characteristic distortion of the stems 

 of the affected plants was noticeable. In fact, it was only by this 

 symptom that the presence of the insect was detected. The white 

 ovisacs were not commonly noticeable until well into September. The 

 insect occurred both on the wild Erica cinerea and upon allied culti- 

 vated forms in gardens. In the latter case the insect was a veritable 

 pest, some plants being so thickly infested that they had to be destroyed. 



The nymphal insect is of a bright golden yellow colour, with 

 glistening, short, glassy filaments. In the final stage the colour deepens 

 to orange-red. In my Surrey examples all the dorsal spines are rather 

 more acuminate than those of typical examples from Devonshire, in 

 which the larger spines are markedly truncate. 



