112 . NATURAL SCIENCE. August. 



the "bloodwood apple," has a height of two inches, and a diameter 

 of three. 



There is a very curious double growth in B. pileata Schrader, 

 and B. variabilis, mihi, unknown in any other species we are acquainted 

 with. In the former, a long fleshy spike shoots out, under which the 

 female gall is formed. As it increases in size the spike cracks round 

 at the base, turning into an inverted cup-like covering protecting the 

 young gall ; this becomes brown and dry, falling off as the gall 

 beneath reaches maturity. In B. variabilis the gall, which is very 

 globose and woody, has a hollow dome-shaped false cell growing 

 around and above the true solid gall. In the latter there is a very 

 small round apical orifice, while in the dome above there is a ragged 

 irregular aperture. Both these species appear to present a case where 

 the outer bark of the stem throws off another gall on its own account. 



The female coccids are top-shaped, round at the head, and 

 sharply attenuated towards the anal tip or " tail " ; they are yellow 

 or semi-transparent " grubs " with no visible mouth or eyes when 

 mature ; short, rudimentary, three-jointed antennae are situated on a 

 small knob (evidently the head segment) between the fore legs ; the 

 middle and hind legs are slightly larger, and all terminate in a simple 

 curved claw ; the abdominal segments are distinct, covered lightly 

 with fine hairs, and on the dorsal side carrying irregular rows of short 

 sharp spines (which form very good guides for determining specific 

 differences). From the tip of the anal segment stand out the anal 

 appendages, consisting of two black horny processes lying close 

 together, but tapering and generally cleft at the tip. 



The mature coccid is simply a bag of semi-transparent jelly, 

 which changes into a thin transparent fluid, in which the white 

 opaque eggs can be seen, through the skin, floating about ; they are 

 extruded in long strings, each egg sac bursting a few seconds after its 

 emergence, when the new-born larva, after a few kicks and struggles, 

 shakes itself clear and crawls down under its mother, remaining inside 

 the gall and often filling the cavity between the wall of the gall and 

 her. After some days they crawl through the apical orifice and 

 escape on to the tree. 



If all the thousands of larvae that escaped from a single gall 

 were able to make good their footing upon the tree, that would 

 succumb speedily to their united attacks ; but besides the numbers 

 that never succeed in producing a gall, many that do are destroyed at 

 a very early stage by the attacks of hymenopterousand other parasitic 

 insects. 



There are two other genera belonging to this group, Ascelis and 

 Opisthoscelis. In the former the adult female has no signs of legs or 

 head, but is simply a mass of yellow jelly armed with a remarkable 

 three-fingered anal appendage, which plugs up the apical opening in 

 the flat blister-like or globular gall. The males of Ascelis do not 

 produce galls, but remain in the parent gall until full grown. 



