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white waxy secretion covering each one. Over the whole egg mass is a 

 white flocculose network of waxy threads which cover the eggs and 

 quite effectually protect them from attack by other insects. The female 

 commences secreting these threads some hours before egg laying begins, 

 and continues secretingas long as the mass of eggs increases. A female 

 before laying her eggs will be about 2.5 """ wide and 4 "'"^ long, but when 

 through there is nothing left of her but a little dry wrinkled jjiece of 

 lifeless skin and a mass of eggs back of her that will measure two or 

 three times as much as she did a short time before. The female feeds 

 all the time she is depositing her eggs, and no doubt lays far fewer eggs 

 when forced to do so with no food accessible. The eggs first laid will 

 remain farthest from the female and beneath, she moving ahead as the 

 mass grows. The mass also raises her until, toward the last her posi- 

 tion is often nearer vertical than horizontal. 



Quite a number of females of various sizes were placed in ajar to see 

 how long they would live with no food. There was moisture enough 

 for their needs, and the temperature was a little above what it would 

 be in a comfortable dwelling house. The smaller ones, which were not 

 over a quarter grown, molted on the second day and on the third were 

 mostly dead. Many of the larger ones molted the day the smaller 

 ones died. Some of the smaller of them lived a few days longer and 

 then died, but the most of the larger ones began very soon to deposit 

 eggs. One of the largest of the number was carefully watched, and it 

 was found that the eggs increased at the rate of about 36 every twenty- 

 four hours. Egg laying lasted only four or five days, instead of ten 

 dnys or two weeks as usual, when the female shriveled and died, leav- 

 in<i from 100 to 150 eggs in each mass. The most of these eggs were 

 i'ertile and hatched in about a week after they were placed there. None 

 of the females were full grown, and the experiment shows that the 

 mealybug will still strenuously endeavor to propagate its kind from 

 immature specimens when food is wanting. Another lot of specimens 

 were placed in a cold room under otherwise similar conditions and all 

 sizes remained dormant for a long period with no apparent injury. 



It requires from one to two weeks for the eggs to hatch, according to 

 the temperature. As a usual thing the young mealy bugs from the eggs 

 first laid will hatch some days before the female has finished laying. 

 They are very active and, like other young bugs, appear to be mostly 

 antenna* and feet. They do not venture out from under the flocculent 

 covering for several days, and before they do they have assumed a par- 

 tial mealy coat resembling considerably the parent. The attennse are 

 6-jointed in the female and 7-jointed in the male larvae. 



On the 14th of April a single gravid female was placed in the labo- 

 ratory on a Coleus plant. Since that time two generations have been 

 reared from the one specimen. This would make about two months for 

 each generation, but, where the temperature is like that maintained in 

 a conservatory, this period is shortened two weeks. We may say then 



