CKROPLASTES. 39 



soil at Seven Pagodas, Madras, in February, 1893, and 

 were carefully packed and forwarded to me. There 

 were many examples of the adult female on the stems 

 of the food-plant, with their thick, regular coverings of 

 white wax, but there were neither eggs nor larva? in 

 them. Judging from the colour and condition of the 

 wax, I should say that the females had been dead some 

 time; and this is what one would expect, as the young 

 females were, when taken, at the period of fecundation. 

 On the leaves, and more rarely on the stems, were 

 numerous examples of the young females (second stage), 

 and scales (puparia) of the male ; all of the latter were 

 apparently empty. On looking carefully over the 

 debris at the bottom of the packet I found many 

 examples of the perfect male which delighted me, for 

 hitherto not a single male of any of the known species 

 of the genus Geroplastes had been discovered. Un- 

 doubtedly the males must have been hatched during 

 transit, and it is well that Miss Tomlin collected them 

 when she did, or we should have had but their empty 

 scales to tell that they had existed. 



" Restored specimens of the male, reddish brown, 

 body rather short, wide ; eyes black, large and pro- 

 minent ; the two ocelli beneath, small ; antennae of ten 

 joints, third longest, all with many fine hairs and 

 deeply notched sides. Legs ordinary. Wings rather 

 short. Genital armature somewhat triangular, with a 

 large, thin, projecting, funnel-shaped organ. Anal 

 lobes each with one very long hair and one or more 

 short ones ; lobes with numerous circular discs. The 

 long anal setse in life would no doubt be covered with 

 white wax, forming long white filaments. ... In 

 all the specimens examined the white covering was 

 wanting, and no doubt was broken away during 

 transit. 



" Scale (puparium) of the male opaque glassy white, 

 with a broad central, and three lateral caringe; the 

 central ones meeting form a complete loop. 



" Long, 2-2-50 mm." 



