COCCIDyE. 333 



of a brown scale. If, therefore, the fully developed creature l)e 

 boiled and mounted according to instructions given, we shall have 

 a more or less circular form, representing the outer edge of the scale, 

 and the internal appendages as represented in fig. .308. As already 

 stated, the body is transformed into a covering for the eggs and larva'. 

 Thus, speaking generally, the eggs are, contained in the enlarged body, 

 and when the larvae hatch out, tliey may often be found in a group 

 underneath the scale. 



When this stage of development is attained, the female is some- 

 times apparently, and often in reality, dead. In either case it shows, 

 on tlie part of nature, a very beautiful arrangement. The modifica- 

 tion of form and structure for the prospective requirements of her 

 own progeny is a beautiful adaptation ; but when we consider that 

 the dead body of the female is transformed into a protective cover- 

 ing for the offspring, it shows a form of altruism, — the application of 

 that law which reveals a struggle for the life of others, and which is 

 in itself, certainly, a very beautiful adaptation indeed. 



In studying those creatures in a natural state, from an arboreal 

 point of view, it would be best to mark a badly infested plant 

 for examination, and make regular visits to the same. If, there- 

 fore, the attacked portion be examined during autumn, it will be 

 ascertained that the small larvae are somewhat difficult to find. They 

 have, of course, lost the activity of early youth, together with (to the 

 naked eye) characters and their appendages. They are now trans- 

 formed into small scales, measuring perhaps approximately about J^ 

 or -gL of an inch in length, comparatively flat, and in colour harmon- 

 ising well with the food-plant. They are to all appearance lifeless, 

 and in this comatose state pass the winter. At the same time it 

 must be remembered that before winter sets in the larvae will have 

 passed through their first moulting stage. In spring, glassy elongated 

 puparia of the male may be found (see fig. 310), and if collected in 

 late spring or early summer the perfect insect can be hatched 

 artificially. 



After copulation, the females develop rapidly until they measure 

 about 1 to y^g- of an inch in diameter. As males are not always found 

 associated with the female scales, it is quite possible they may at 

 times be parthenogenetic. 



In Cheshire the females reached maturity by July 1. If a number 

 of specimens are placed under glass about the time referred to, it will 



