4s) 
hairs. This little insect ordinarily remains on the plant where the females have fastened 
themselves, and uses its wings only to skip short distances. Scarcely has it quitted 
the shell in which its metamorphosis has been produced than it runs rapidly over the 
leaves which bear the females, and, passing them in review successively, approaches 
each of them, performing each time regular and uniform movements. With head 
erect, wings half spread, and abdomen bent down behind, he hastily mounts the back 
of the first female he meets, and after stopping there an instant, he faces about, and 
with equal ardour rushes upon each of the females who may be nigh. The number of 
males is much less than that of females; I believe that the males do not form more 
than the tenth part of a whole brood. 
“The characters enumerated above induce me to arrange this insect in the order 
Hemiptera, and to place it amongst the Homoptera in a genus of the family of Gall- 
insects. I would propose to call it Gasteralphe, a name which perfectly designates 
the most prominent peculiarity of its external form.” 
Professor Westwood remarked that it was perfectly clear, from the description and 
from the plates, that the insect which Dr. Icéry supposed to be the male of the Coccus 
was not a Coccus at all; it was a species of Coccophagus, a Hymenopterous (Chalci- 
ditic) parasite upon Coceus. The female described was doubtless a true Coccus, the 
male of which was, he presumed, still unknown. The action which the author had 
mistaken for the impregnation of the female Coccus was, in fact, the deposition of the 
eggs of the female Coccophagus in the body of the Coccus. Dr. Icéry’s observations 
on the effect of different fluids on the larve were very interesting, particularly as to 
the powerlessness of water and the rapid action of spirits of wine, which might be 
explained by the fact that the downy matter surrounding the larve, being of the nature 
of lac, was insoluble in water and soluble in spirit. 
Mr. W. W. Saunders mentioned that for some years he had used spirits of wine in 
his greenhouses for cleansing plants and clearing them from insects; he mixed the 
rectified spirits and pure water in equal proportions, and this mixture, which was found 
to answer better than undiluted spirit, was applied with a brush. _ It was very effica- 
cious in the destruction of the common mealy bug (especially when young) and other 
common pests, and he recommended it as worthy of application in the greenhouse 
generally. 
Professor Westwood called attention to the Report of a Commission which had 
been appointed by the Committee of Council for Education to enquire into the causes 
of decay in wood carvings, and the means of preventing and remedying the same. 
The insects which in this country were found to be the most injurious, from their 
habit of burrowing into the wood of furniture, were three beetles of the family Ptinide, 
viz., Ptilinus pectinicornis, Anobium striatum and A. tessellatum. Numerous experi- 
ments had been made with carbolic acid, chloroform and benzine, specimens of furniture 
attacked by the worm being submitted to the action of the vapour of these different 
substances; other specimens were saturated with corrosive sublimate dissolved in 
methylated spirits of wine. The conclusions at which the Commission arrived were 
(1), that the action of the worm may be arrested and the worm itself destroyed by 
vaporization, more especially by the vapour of benzine ; (2), that carved work may be 
completely restored by an injection of vegetable gum and gelatine, in order to fill up 
