﻿214 POMONA COLLEGE JOURNAL OF ENTOMOLOGY 



Strangely it has never been reported from Florida — the home of a great pine- 

 apple industry. 



Diaspis echiuocacti cacti Comst 



Female Scale (Fig. 87) — Light gray in color with a dark apex — this apex 

 or first exuvia is usually near one edge of the shell. The diameter is from 

 I3X to 2 mm. 



Body (Fig. 88B) — The younger form (Fig. 88 A) is nearly round, with- 

 out signs of segmentation. The adult form (Fig. 88 B) is more or less heart- 

 shaped and much segmented near the posterior end. 



Figure 8 7. Diaspis echinocacti var. cacti. 



Pygidium (Fig. 88 C) — Median lobes are smooth and single. Second 

 pair lobes are smooth and double. Third lobe is a single smooth lobe. Fourth 

 lobe is double and smooth. There is also a rudimentary fifth lobe. Between 

 the two median and also between the median and the second pair lobes are 

 two fumbriated plates. Between the second and third lobes is a single stout 

 spine ; one spine between the third and fourth ; and two between the fourth 

 and fifth. There are four more spines before the first segment. Spinnerets 

 are very numerous all over the surface of the pygidium. Median groups con- 

 sist of 14 to 16, laterals nearly the same number. The tuliular spinnerets are 

 widely distributed. 



Male — Resembles the male pupacases of all ihe genus Diaspis. They 

 consist of a small dark body, and a long white sac with three parallel lobes 

 running the entire length of the sac. The adult form was not obtained. 



Food plants — Cerciis giganteus, C. macrogonus, Bchiiwcactus. 



Habitat — This specimen was taken at Guadalajara, Mexico, by D. Craw- 

 ford. It has been reported from greenhouses in northern United States, New 

 Mexico, Brazil, India, Mauritius. 



