PEMPHIGUS LACTUOARIUS. 125 



Abdomen pale, with two rows of minute lateral dots. 

 Rostrum reaches to the second coxje. The antenna! 

 joints vary in number according to the size of the 

 individual. 



The young which are born in the early year are 

 linear and nearly cylindrical. They have much the 

 appearance of young centipedes, which are pretty con- 

 stant companions of this and other underground 

 species of Aphis. These young have only four antennal 

 joints, which increase to five, not counting the nail, as 

 they pass into more mature forms. Except that these 

 young show a short rostrum, they might be taken for 

 miniature Juli. 



Koch saw these a,bnormal forms born, the adults 

 having been placed by him between watch-glasses. 

 Like this naturalist, I have not met with the imago. 

 Nevertheless, I have no doubt that my insect is iden- 

 tical with P. lactucarius of Passerini. The diagnosis, 

 habitat, and food well agree. The last author describes 

 the winged female as a true PempMgian, and also states 

 that the pupa is lanuginose. 



This insect is plentiful in some light and sandy 

 soils, which they excavate in the vicinity of the roots 

 of various plants, such as Lactuca sativa, L. virosa, 

 Sonchus oleraceus. The Aphis is very plentiful at 

 Haslemere, where I found them at the roots of the 

 wall-flower {Glieiranthus Cheiri), the fetid chamomile 

 {Anthemis cotula), and the goose-foot {Ghenopodium 

 alhmn). But they are most common at the decaying 

 roots of the garden lettuce, few of which, in January 

 and February, can be uprooted without showing their 

 downy flocks. 



The communities inhabiting these earth cavities are 

 not large. They do not usually number more than 

 eisfht or a dozen individuals, which become darker in 

 colour after exposure to the air. This they seem to 

 shun, for they speedily re-bury themselves after being 

 unearthed. 



Towards the middle of September, after the corn 



