December 189S.] 



PSYCHE. 

 A NEW ANT-NEST COCCID. 



297 



BY GEO. B. KING AND J. D. TINSLET. 



Dactylopiiis cockcrelli, n. sp.— Adult ?. 

 Length 24 mm. Width ij mm. Shape, 

 ovoidal, quite plump. Color, reddish vary- 

 ing to brownish. Coated with white mealy 

 secretion. With a hand lens the segments 

 of the body are quite distinct. No lateral 

 or caudal appendages. Boiled in caustic 

 potash the insects do not stain the liquid. 

 Shortly after boiling however the insect 

 changes to a deep reddish brown color. 

 Cleared and mounted, the skin is colorless. 



Dactylofius cockerelli. 

 Anteinia and leg, X 200. 

 Antennae, legs and mouth parts light 

 yellow after mounting. Antennae 8 jointed, 

 8 longest and thicker than 5 X 6 or 7 and as 

 long as those three joints together. 2 always 

 longer than i : three next longest, then 7 X 

 5 and 6 with the 4 shortest. Formula 82 13754' 

 There is little difference between the joints 

 from 4 to 7 except that 4 is distinctly shorter, 

 joints I X 2 are nearly as long again as 6 and 

 7. All of the joints have numerous rather 



large hairs. Mouth parts very small, rostral 

 loop not reaching half way to base of middle 

 legs. Legs quite stout, short and bristly; 

 femur and tibia nearly equal in length, the 

 femur being a little the longest, and quite 

 stout, 140 ft long 65 [1 wide. Tibia 120 y. 

 long. Tarsus short, less than 4 the length 

 of tibia, 60 |i long. Claws stout and curved, 

 20 |i long. Tarsal digitules very fine and 

 quite short. Claw digitules short, knobbed 

 and quite indistinct. Anal ring with the 

 usual 6 hairs. Caudal tubercles nor- 

 mal, each with a long hair (i longer 

 than those of the anal ring) and one 

 much shorter hair; there are also a 

 long conical spine and other short 

 spines. The skin has a few scatter- 

 ing long hairs and conical spines more 

 noticable between the antennae and 

 some more on the margin and numer- 

 ous gland spots. 



Habitat. Andover, Mass., Sept. 17, 

 1898, in nests oi Lasius Jiavus L. under 

 a fiat stone. The coccids are con- 

 cealed in a small snow white cottony 

 ovisack, composed of a fluffy mass of 

 cottony secretion 4 mm. long and ij 

 mm. wide. At tlie anal end of the 

 sack are found the small oval bright 

 pink eggs of the coccid. Tliis is the 

 9th ant-nest coccid found in Massa- 

 chusetts, and it should be stated here 

 that Dactylapina citri Boisd. and D. 

 adonidutn L. have also been found in ant 

 nests in Mass. 



This species is probably most nearly al- 

 lied to Dactylapius kijigii Ckll. from which 

 it differs in having the antennae and legs 

 stouter; in kingii the ist joint of the an- 

 tennae is always longer than the 2d, while 

 in this species the 2d is usually longer than 

 the 1st although they may be subequal. The 

 femur of kingii is considerably longer usu- 



