on the Bionomics of Southern Nigerian Insects. 419 
a tube over them they simply sit still or at least won't go 
up the tube. I may say that I know of three species ! 
All so far I have found on “ ant-trees,’ but ve had two 
horrible misfortunes in losing two sets of the others, but 
it is only a matter of time before I get them again. My 
chief reason for sending the spirit ones was because T saw 
no evidence of the adults feeding, while the immature 
forms appear to eat bark! I intended to look for a biting 
apparatus, but had to send home the material before I 
got time; but what I took to be their frass appeared to be 
solid. Let me say definitely that the ants do not attend 
them, they ignore them, though why they should tolerate 
such soft-bodied, harmless things I don’t know. The Para 
species is left alone by Oecophylla. The other two species 
were on Cremastogaster trees, Antiaris and an Anonaceous 
tree, the latter a beautiful form with almost black wings. 
Jt seems almost incredible that such large insects could 
have been overlooked. They feed in a colony and remain 
together till the last, when they disappear. Males I think 
are very rare, if the males are one or two relatively tiny’ 
forms that P’ve seen amongst the crowd of large ones. 
am sure they are not sucking insects. I should say a 
colony might number a hundred or two. They generally 
congregate in a circular crowd. I think I know their eggs, 
which are like little rafts of mosquito eggs, very similar 
indeed, but I was waiting a chance to see them emerge 
before making any announcement. I am looking forward 
to hearing more of them. ll try sending the next I get 
in wool like mosquitoes. I am in hopes that I may get 
some more when I run down to Agege to pay my labourers 
there. The black-winged species I found here, but they 
aren’t “on” just now. But it’s only a matter of time— 
and good health. There’s another quaint group of Psylhd- 
looking creatures that spin a protective silky web. They 
also are “ corticolous,” but are very much smaller. ri 
get some of them too. 
Feb. 12, 1918.—{Speaking of his first doubtful belief 
that the insects were allied to Psyllidae.| You will gather 
from my last letter that I had doubts, lots of them, but 
somehow I never thought of looking in Sharp, Pt. I, for 
them. What upset me was the “ frass,”” which led me to 
believe them to be mandibulate insects, at least before 
the imaginal stage (for I have never seen them feed then). 
I vaguely wondered whether suctorial insects like Psyllids 
