APHIDlDyE. 



299 



long rostrum in the winged form, their jointed antennae, eyes small, 

 legs very short, and tarsi apparently single-jointed, with a double 

 claw and pad. In this respect they come very near in structure to 

 the Coccidce or " scale -insects." As regards the wings, they are 

 decidedly of aphidian structure, inas- 

 much as Ave get a well-marked cubitus, 

 whence spring their straight veins. 



Phylloxera imndata (Licht.) 



'i'he damage accruing from this insect 

 is often very conspicuous in a general 

 way, and, except to the searching eye 

 of the naturalist, the insect itself may 

 be easily overlooked. During the latter 

 half of the summer the oak leaves begin 

 to take a very sere colour, and thus we 

 often hear it remarked that the drought 

 is playing havoc with the foliage, or that 

 winter is setting in early. Xow the 

 cause of this is due to our aphis, Phyl- 

 loxera punctata, — a creature closely 

 allied to the dreaded pest of France, 

 and found abundantly on the under 

 side of the oak foliage (fig. 281). 



The yellow spots are caused by the 

 mother aphis and her eggs or progeny, 

 which surround her in concentric circles. 

 The mother has a very long ovipositor, 

 by means of which she arranges her eggs. 



The queen-mothers may be looked for 

 early in June or latter end of May 

 under a very small pucker, which might 

 be mistaken for the beginning of some species of gall. 



The female (fig, 282) in the centre of the yellow spot is a com- 

 paratively small creature, with flask-shaped body of an amber-yellow 

 colour spotted with red. Head rather broad ; eyes small ; thorax 

 hardly separable from abdomen, which terminates in an obtuse 

 ovipositor ; antennte three-jointed. 



Fig. 281. — Underside of oak leaf in- 

 jested with Phylloxera punctata. 



'.$* 



Fig. 2.S-2. — Ajitfroux fcnudi', Cfj(js, and 

 larva 0/ Phylloxera punctata. 



