142 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



presently — it attaches itself to the plant by its rostrum and setae, 

 and lies inert and stationary, under a little shield composed of 

 half of its old skin and half of secretion. As it also, in entering 

 this stage, loses its legs altogether, it must remain in the position 

 it has chosen for the rest of its life. In the Lecanidinae and in 

 the Coccidinge the skin of the larva is thrown away altogether, 

 and the female, in her second stage, takes up a new position, in 

 which she may be either naked or covered with a thin coat of 

 secretion, active or stationary, retaining her legs in most cases, or 

 losing them in some instances. In all the groups there is almost 

 always some approach to the form of the full-grown insect notice- 

 able in this second stage. 



4. The Full-grown Insect. — Here there is almost unlimited 

 variety of form, colour and habits. The insects may be naked or 

 covered, active or stationary. In the Diaspidinae the process 

 just described is repeated ; the female slips out of her second 

 skin, but still keeps both it and the first over her, adding more 

 fibrous secretion from the spinnerets ; so that, in fact, she lies an 

 inert, legless, slug-like object, under a covering composed partly 

 of the two skins, partly of secretion. In the Lecanidinae (except 

 in one single genus) and the Coccidinae the second skin is dis- 

 carded altogether ; but the insect may either construct a new 

 shield or remain naked, may be either with or without legs, either 

 active or stationary. Once this last stage of her existence entered 

 upon, the female prepares for laying her eggs. In most species 

 the male is present ; in some, as far as can be made out, after 

 investigation of many years, no males are found. The female is 

 naked ; either hatches the eggs in her own body or lays them on 

 the plant ; if covered, she fills her shield with the eggs them- 

 selves — e.g., Lecanium hemisphcericum ; or, again, deposits them 

 in an ovisac, a mass of cottony secretion — e.g., Pulvinaria 

 camellicola or Icerya purchasei. 



II. — THE MALE INSECT. 



It has been remarked elsewhere that, as the full-grown males 

 of the Coccididae are destitute of any organs for feeding what- 

 soever, there is no reason for making systematic attacks on them 

 for economic purposes. It will suffice in this place to observe 

 that in all cases these males are small two-winged flies, their size 

 varying from about one-fortieth of an inch to one-fourth of an 

 inch in length ; colour, usually yellow or red ; wings longer than 

 the body, hyaline (glassy) and often iridescent, and in repose, 

 lying flat, partly crossing each other. The antennae are long, 

 slender, and hairy, the tarsus having only one joint and 

 terminating in a single claw. The insects are generally very 

 active. The males are thus so small and rapid in their move- 

 ments that it is difficult in most cases to find them in a free state. 

 The usual way to procure them is by hatching them from the 

 pupae. In their course of life they pass through four stages, as 



