326 Transactions. — Zoology. 



hairs with minute tubercular bases, and there are some simple 

 circular spinneret orifices. 



Female of the second stage elliptical, brownish-red, about 

 J^in. in length ; flat beneath, convex above. Antennae as in 

 the adult; feet absent. The dorsum is covered with numbers 

 of very minute pustules. 



Larva reddish-brown or yellowish-brown, active, elliptical ; 

 length, about Jg-in. Abdomen terminated by two very minute 

 and inconspicuous anal tubercles, with very short setae. 

 Antennae conical, with rather confused joints, which may be 

 five or six ; the last joint bears two long hairs. Feet rather 

 thick ; claw strong. I have not been able to detect any 

 digitules. Eyes very small, black, tubercular. 



Male pupa enclosed in a small, white, cottony, cylindrical 

 sac, within the gall ; length of the sac, about ^V^^- 



Adult male dark-red, wings grey ; length of the body (exclu- 

 sive of the spike), about 4\jin. ; the spike is excessively long, 

 in some cases quite twice as long as the rest of the insect, 

 and the penis still longer. The last abdominal segment is 

 cylindrical, and the spike which issues from it is com- 

 posed of several long, tapering, apparently telescopic joints. 

 Antenna of ten sparsely-haired joints, the first two short 

 and subglobular, the rest long and slender. Feet not pre- 

 senting any special characters ; there is a terminal spur on 

 the tibia. 



Hab. In Western Australia, on a Myrtaceous plant, either 

 Melaleuca or CalotJiavimis. Mr. Lea has sent me a large 

 number of specimens, from Geraldton, and says, " There are 

 acres of this." I am indebted to Mr. J. H. Maiden, of 

 Sydney, for identification of the plant, and also for deciding 

 the character of the galls, as to which I was at first un- 

 certain whether they were not aborted seed-vessels. Mr. 

 Maiden says that the fruits are not imbricated, and are 

 open at the end. The galls must therefore be leaves aborted 

 and agglomerated by the Coccids, and I suppose that the 

 central shaft and radiating bars represent the twigs and leaf- 

 stalks. 



The adult male of this species resembles, in the very 

 elongated and attenuated spike, that of Spli. lyirogallis. Since 

 establishing this genus in 1891 I ha.ve refrained altogether 

 from defining any generic characters for the males, although 

 I have now four species of that sex. I cannot consider the 

 spike as characteristic, for a similar organ is apparently found 

 in Ascelis prcemollis, Schr., OpistJioscelis spinosa, Frogg., and 

 0. verrucula, Frogg. ; moreover, in SphcRrococcus styphclia 

 the spike is very short. I must therefore still leave the males 

 generically undefined. 



