252 Egg-cases and early stages of some S. China Cassidide, 
possible that this ootheca may serve as a protection to 
dampness or drought, to spray or sand, in its exposed 
habitat, but in China Coptocycla cireuwmdata live upon the 
same food-plant and is exposed to the same conditions, 
It appears to be immaterial to the hatching of the larva 
of Laccoptera chinensis whether the egg-case be partly or 
wholly covered with excrement or left entirely uncovered. 
The larva and pupa of A. puncticosta, B. stolida and 
Laccoptera excavata have each a distinct style of larval 
appendages, and each is as heavily attacked by parasites 
as many beetles’ larvae not protected in such manner. 
As eggs and larve are scarce during October and 
November in Macao we were unable to collect enough 
material in the field to discover what parasites attack the 
species mentioned above and in what proportion. Several 
adults and larvee were found killed by a fungus growth. 
Until the structure of the egg-cases and larval append- 
ages of more species have been described, and the death 
factors that keep these beetles in check are better known, 
it were better not to insist that protection against enemies 
or drought is the “raison d’étre” of the development. 
