﻿74 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



account of the vast numbers of ants it attracted to the tree. I 

 found the curious galled leaf masses or " topnots," as Del Guercio 

 describes them (Plates IV. and V.), in great quantities on this 

 particular tree, and also elsewhere in the locality. They 

 appeared to occur chiefly low down — not many could be seen 

 higher up than twenty feet from the ground. Many were 

 present on the tops of the suckers around the base of the tree. 



This aphid has been recorded as feeding on Tilia grandifoUa, 

 T. parvifolia, T. argentea, and Del Guercio refers to it on T. 

 enroi'XBa, Linn., T. platyphijUa, Scop., and T. argentea, Dec, in 

 Italy. The leaf-galls, for one can call them by no better name, 

 are very marked, but vary somewhat in form. 



The usual type I found (Plate IV. a) has one large leaf rolled 

 up in cigar fashion, with the top of the shoot and the smaller 

 terminal leaves crumpled up inside ; the stalk is markedly bent 

 over just before the final " leaf gall " arises. Sometimes this 

 form is somewhat irregular. The second type (Plate IV. b) has 

 the large outer leaf bent over from above downwards and 

 backwards, forming an irregular triangular mass, with often the 

 side^ of the leaf folded laterally over the median portion. The 

 longest galled mass I found was a little over four inches in 

 length. The inner crumpled leaves and contorted, stunted shoot 

 were more or less chloritic, and sometimes the outer leaf was 

 paler than usual. The tip of the shoot is often very much 

 twisted and lies with the smaller terminal leaves in a crumpled 

 mass inside the large outer curled leaf. The leaves, both in- 

 ternal and external, were remarkably crisp, and broke at tlie 

 least touch ; this was also pointed out, I find, by Del Guercio. 



Later on I noticed the whole leaf mass turned brown and 

 died, due to the constant sucking of the masses of insects 

 sheltered within, and to the quantity of very sticky honey-dew 

 that they produce. 



At the time of my visit to Bearsted the leaf-galls were 

 almost entirely tenanted by nymphfe, but here and there I for- 

 tunately found a large viviparous female, clearly an old 

 "Queen" or " Fundatris," and a few of her progeny in a 

 later stage than that figured by Del Guercio. This vivi- 

 parous foundress was 4 mm. long, one about 5 mm. ; their 

 form is globular and very bloated in appearance ; the colour 

 varied from deep greenish-brown or olive-brown to dark-brown, 

 and one was a deep orange-yellow ; in all, the head, antennae, 

 and legs almost black. The few young I noticed were the same 

 colour as the countless nymphae, which varied from dull yellow 

 to yellowish or brownish green, the nymphae having dark wing- 

 pads and dark legs, and the head with dark marks ; some of the 

 nymphae showed five pairs of small lateral tufts of white wool. 

 In all the apterae there now and then appeared a slight 

 farinaceous coat. 



