72 AUSTRALIAN BUG. 



the groups in which they are to be found on twigs or 

 leafage. 



The adult females which were sent me from Port 

 Elizabeth, with the white-striped egg-bag attached, were 

 about a quarter of an inch long, and of the shape 

 figured magnified on the left hand of figure on p. 69, 

 that is, somewhat tortoise-shaped, and arched up from 

 each side and each end. The hinder part of the true 

 abdomen of the " Bug " is hidden by the fore part of 

 the egg-bag, and is tilted up by the vast number of eggs 

 which gradually accumulate beneath. The colour of the 

 insect is of some shade of orange or salmon, for the 

 most part covered on the upper side, and partially on 

 the under side, by a whitish mealy-looking coat. When 

 magnified this appearance is shown to be formed of 

 little rough patches of a white cotton-like or waxy 

 secretion, which are largest and thickest towards the 

 fore part of the insect, and are mixed with a sprinkling 

 of black hairs. These hairs are set much more thickly 

 at the edges, and form almost a fringe at the hinder 

 part, to which the white longitudinally striped egg-bag is 



FIG. 29. Female of Icerya purchasi ; under side and antenna (much 

 magnified.) 



Whether this sac is easily separable when fresh I do 

 not know, but, after soaking some time in spirits of 

 wine, I found it could be easily detached, and the insect 

 attached was found to be a soft, thick, fleshy, oval mass, 

 the place of the thorax or fore body being shown above 



