TRANSACTIONS. 



On the Metamorphoses of a Coccus found upon Oranges.* 



By Richard Beck. 



(Read March 13tb, 1861.) 



If the external surface of almost any of the sweet oranges 

 be only cursorily examined^ it will be found more or less 

 spotted with small scales, the shields of a coccus or scale 

 insect ; they are adherent to the rind of the orange, but can 

 easily be detached ; and, on turning one of the larger ones 

 over, it will be found, on examination under a low power, 

 to present, as the most striking feature, a large accumula- 

 tion of eggs lying beneath a cottony secretion (Plate V, 

 fig. 1, A) ; very frequently these eggs are in the process of 

 hatching, and, under such circumstances, we have the insect 

 in its larva state (fig. 3) . 



The body is white, oval, and very flat : there are two 

 antennae proceeding from underneath ; they are about one 

 fourth the length of the body, rather hairy, and of eight or 

 nine joints, two very small light-pink ocelli, or simple eyes, 

 occur one on each side, at the very edge of the body, and 

 about where the long curves of the oval commence ; consider- 

 ably below the antennae is a proboscis, a long and apparently 

 horny tube, proceeding from a conical base. These, with 

 the exception of a few isolated hairs, are the only external 

 organs of the head that are apparent. The legs are six 

 in number, each consisting of, I think, four members; 

 the terminal ones being provided with a hook, and two or 

 more very small suckers hardly to be distinguished from 



* Tlie author considers these observations as very incomplete; his 

 object in laying them before the society in such a state was to afford any 

 member an opportunity of inveslii^ating the subject whilst the oranges were 

 in season, having since found that the same coccus is iu great quantities 

 on plants in this country, and that the eggs are now hatching; he would 

 still call the attention of microscopists to the subject. 



VOL. I. — NEVT 8ER. « 



