322 Transactions. — Zoology. 



it is a valid genus I am not prepared to say, never having 

 seen it. But there is no character in these specimens from 

 Mauritius which seems to me sufficient to remove them from 

 the genus Dactylopius. 



Dactylopius calceolarise, Maskell, var. minor, var. nov. 



Adult female thick and subglobular, reddish -brown in 

 colour, covered with moderate meal, which in the specimens 

 sent is yellowish, but as they came in alcohol it is difficult to 

 say whether in life the meal is white or whether there are any 

 lateral tassels or not ; length of insect, about Ys^n. Antennae 

 of eight joints, the eighth the longest, then the second, then 

 the first and third equal, the rest shorter and subequal. Feet 

 rather long and slender ; tibia slightly dilated at the tip, and 

 about twice as long as the tarsus; claw slender; tarsal digitules 

 fine hau's, digitules of claw very slightly dilated. Anogenital 

 ring normal, with six hairs ; anal tubercles inconspicuous. 

 Epidermis bearing some small circular spinnerets and a few 

 conical spines. 



Larva yellow or yellowish - brown ; length, about -j'-gin. 

 Antennae of six joints, of which the last is the longest, and 

 fusiform, the rest short and subequal. Anal tubercles very 

 small and inconspicuous. 



Adult male unknown. 



Hab. In Mauritius, on roots of " onion-grass." Mr. Louns- 

 bury sent me specimens received by him from Mr. Nash, of 

 the Oriental Estates Company, sent together with those of 

 D. sacchari. It appears that these also were included under 

 the name of the " Pou blanc," so that probably the secretion 

 on the adult female is in life white. 



This is much nearer to D. calceolaria} than is D. sacchari; 

 and, indeed, there seems to be little except size to separate it. 

 I find that in my specimens of calceolaria} the sequence of the 

 antennal joints varies a little, so that no distinction can be 

 founded on that. 



Section IDIOCOCCIN^. 

 Genus Sph^kococcus. 

 Sphaerococcus rugosus, sp. nov. Plate XXI, figs. 5, 6, 7. 



Females inhabiting galls of a dark-green colour, which are 

 attached by a very short stalk to the leaves of the plant, 

 though rarely a few are attached to the twigs. The gall is 

 subglobular, produced at the end in a small cone ; the surface 

 is very conspicuously wrinkled all over. No orifice is visible 

 at the apex of the cone. The average diameter of the gall is 

 about lin. 



Male gall not observed. 



