108 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



lines." The living female extracted from this last was 

 eighteen lines in length, far larger than any Coccus of which 

 we had previously any knowledge. Where these insects ap- 

 pear in great numbers they are excessively injurious to vege- 

 tation. " I have seen whole patches of ground," writes Mr. 

 Schrader, " often a hundred feet square, where the young 

 trees were totally destroyed by the attacks of Brachyscelis 

 phalerata and B. ovicola. In such a case the leaves remain 

 small, the branches become crippled, and finally die." 



Mr. Scott's paper on the ovoviviparous moth will not bear 

 abbreviation. I therefore extract it almost entire. 



" The lepidopterous insect brought under your considera- 

 tion is closely allied to the genus ' Tinea ' of modern authors, 

 is of small size, and boasts of no outward singularity of form, 

 nor extraordinary beauty of colouring, to distinguish it from 

 others of that group. It was after dark in the early part of 

 October, 1861, that we first captured a specimen with the 

 hand, being attracted at the moment by its elegant colouring, 

 and wishing to secure it for the cabinet. Fearful that the 

 plumage might be injured by the struggles of the moth while 

 endeavouring to escape, it was gently compressed, and on 

 opening the hand we observed numbers of minute, but per- 

 fect, larvae being ejected from the abdomen in rapid suc- 

 cession, and moving about with considerable celerity, evi- 

 dently in search of suitable shelter and food. This incident, 

 so singular and new to us, required further confirmation, and 

 consequently many moi'e of a similar kind (of course all 

 females) were caught and attached to corks, previously co- 

 vered with black paper, and subjected to the closest scrutiny. 

 These moths shortly commenced to deposit their living pro- 

 geny with great rapidity, the small, white, fleshy larvae being 

 seen with great distinctness on the black surface of the 

 paper ; thus affording clear and satisfactory proof that this 

 insect, the only one of its order at present known, is unques- 

 tionably ovo-viviparous, and will represent in future this pe- 

 culiarity among the Lepidoptera ; similarly to those few 

 species existing in the hemiplerous and dipterous orders. 

 This fact having been ascertained, our attention was incited 

 to the care of the little strangers, and to procure suitable 

 shelter and food for them, in the hope that we should be 

 able to rear them, and thus to supply a correct account of all 



