﻿75 
  

  

  Papers. 
  ■; 
  

  

  The 
  Secretary 
  read 
  the 
  following 
  paper: 
  

  

  Note 
  on 
  Tomocera, 
  a 
  Genus 
  of 
  Scale-bug 
  Parasites, 
  with 
  

  

  Description 
  of 
  a 
  New 
  Species. 
  [Hymen.] 
  

  

  By 
  R. 
  C. 
  L. 
  Perkins. 
  

  

  One 
  of 
  our 
  most 
  abundant 
  species 
  of 
  scale-bug 
  parasites 
  is 
  

   that 
  which 
  commonly 
  infests 
  species 
  of 
  Lecaniuni 
  in 
  these 
  

   Islands, 
  and 
  is 
  known 
  as 
  Tomocera 
  californica. 
  Its 
  very 
  distinct 
  

   appearance 
  and 
  the 
  frequent 
  occasions 
  on 
  which 
  one 
  notices 
  it 
  

   sitting 
  or 
  walking 
  on 
  plants 
  infested 
  with 
  Lecanium, 
  must 
  make 
  

   it 
  familiar 
  to 
  all 
  who 
  pay 
  any 
  attention 
  to 
  the 
  smaller 
  insects. 
  

   It 
  has 
  existed 
  here 
  for 
  a 
  long 
  time, 
  having 
  been 
  collected 
  by 
  

   Blackburn 
  some 
  thirty 
  years 
  ago; 
  and 
  these 
  specimens 
  were 
  

   described 
  subsequently 
  as 
  forming 
  a 
  new 
  genus 
  and 
  species, 
  by 
  

   Cameron, 
  under 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  Moranila 
  testaceipes, 
  two 
  years 
  

   after 
  Howard's 
  description, 
  under 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  Tomocera 
  cali- 
  

   fornica, 
  had 
  appeared. 
  Yet 
  I 
  have 
  no 
  doubt 
  that 
  both 
  here 
  

   and 
  in 
  California 
  this 
  parasite 
  has 
  been 
  introduced 
  by 
  man, 
  with 
  

   scale-infested 
  plants. 
  Of 
  my 
  own 
  observation 
  I 
  know 
  the 
  

   Australian 
  region 
  to 
  be 
  rich 
  in 
  Tomocera 
  and 
  allied 
  forms, 
  and 
  I 
  

   believe 
  the 
  same 
  to 
  be 
  true 
  of 
  the 
  Oriental 
  Region. 
  

  

  From 
  China 
  Mr. 
  Koebele 
  ten 
  years 
  ago 
  introduced 
  parasites 
  

   for 
  Ceroplastes 
  rubens, 
  once 
  a 
  most 
  unsightly 
  pest 
  here. 
  Amongst 
  

   these 
  was 
  a 
  species 
  of 
  Tomocera, 
  I 
  believe 
  as 
  yet 
  un 
  described, 
  

   possibly 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  its 
  extraordinary 
  resemblance 
  to 
  T. 
  

   californica. 
  This 
  undescribed 
  species 
  likewise 
  attacks 
  C. 
  

   ceriferus 
  in 
  middle 
  and 
  north 
  Queensland, 
  but 
  has 
  apparently 
  

   not 
  yet 
  reached 
  South 
  Queensland, 
  nor 
  New 
  South 
  Wales. 
  I 
  

   believe 
  it 
  has 
  certainly 
  been 
  imported 
  from 
  China 
  into 
  North 
  

   Queensland, 
  and 
  will 
  eventually 
  reach 
  New 
  South 
  Wales, 
  even 
  

   if 
  unassisted 
  by 
  entomologists 
  in 
  distribution. 
  

  

  Ceroplastes 
  is 
  not 
  noticeably 
  a 
  pest 
  in 
  the 
  parts 
  where 
  we 
  

   found 
  this 
  Tomocera. 
  I 
  have 
  not 
  at 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  writing 
  suf- 
  

   ficiently 
  good 
  specimens 
  of 
  the 
  males 
  of 
  T. 
  californica, 
  to 
  enable 
  

   me 
  to 
  say 
  more 
  than 
  that 
  in 
  this 
  sex, 
  the 
  specific 
  differences 
  are 
  

   probably 
  as 
  slight 
  as 
  in 
  the 
  females 
  ; 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  the 
  latter 
  

   the 
  extraordinary 
  resemblance 
  to 
  T. 
  californica 
  necessitates 
  

   only 
  the 
  briefest 
  of 
  descriptions. 
  I 
  therefore 
  diagnose 
  the 
  

   species 
  as 
  follows: 
  

  

  