West Australian Goccidie. 463 



which widens out in the form of a funnel or hollow cone, attached at 

 its apex, and in which the conical end of the 9 s abdomen rests. At 

 the cephalic end of the gall there is often a small elevation or table 

 to which the cephalic region of the $ is slightly attached. Diameter 

 0-7 to 1 inch. 



Perfect specimens of the (^ have not been observed. The wings 

 are purple and the al^domen is extremely long. 



On Eucalyptus tesselaris. These insects are edible and 

 much sought after by the natives to whom they are well 

 known as delicacies. Mr. Helms tells me that they are not 

 at all unpalatable, being cool and refreshing on a hot day. 

 The galls are plucked and broken between the teeth and 

 the inmate sucked out. The specific name cchiniformis 

 was adopted at Mr. Helms' suggestion, and I am also in- 

 debted to him for the following interesting information 

 given in his own words : — 



"The insect is readily eaten by all natives and whites 

 Avho know it. It is merely a bladder filling the cavity of 

 the gall ; the taste of its juice cannot be referred to any 

 well-known flavour ; it is watery and in fact almost taste- 

 less, and in sucking it one naturally perceives the flavour 

 of the gum-tree. I found it on U. tesselaris all over East 

 Kimberley, and it is no doubt widely distributed in the 

 Northern Territory of South Australia, as all the natives 

 from those parts were acquainted with it as a choice tit-bit. 

 The Yundi tribe of natives inhabiting the country about 

 Mount Dockrell, West Australia, and the Mulunya tribe, 

 who live near the upper portion of the Victoria E-iver in 

 the Northern Territory, South Australia, know the insect 

 as ' Ballabi.' Another Northern Territory tribe living in 

 the Forest River district call it ' Ballabbi,' and the 

 Daulananya tribe, on the borders of the Catherine River, 

 Northern Territory, have the two names ' Durdunga ' and 

 'Lador' for it. The Mungui tribe living between Pine 

 Creek and the Catherine River call it ' Lordoch,' and the 

 Osborn River (a tributary of the Ord River) tribe term 

 it ' Kai'daddain.' " This is not the first edible Coccid 

 reported from these parts, as Froggatt says that Apio- 

 7)ioi"pha pomiforniis is also eaten by the aborigines. It 

 is, however, extremely probable that in this case the two 

 insects have been confused, as the latter gall is extremely 

 hard and woody and requires considerable force to 

 open it. 



