194 EIPEESIA HALOPHILA. 



females, and these have enabled me to definitely fix the 

 true characters of the species. 



Unfortunately I cannot find where it was that 

 Hardy described his Coccus lialopJiilus. All that 

 Signoret (1. c.) says of it is : " Elle est a peine de -J 

 de ligne, ovale, d'un blanc opaque, sans ecaille dure, 

 mais abondammeiit fourni d'une matiere blanche. Elle 

 se trouve pres de Fast Castle (Angleterre), au milieu des 

 racines du Ligusticum scoticum et du Rhodiola rosea, 

 ainsi que sur celles du Statice armeria, dans les rochers 

 escarpes pres de Siccar-Point." He also states that he 

 has copied the names of the plants, and that Rhodiola 

 should be Radiola. I assume that R. rosea is a 

 synonym of R. linoides, Gmel., and Statice armeria a 

 synonym of Armeria maritima, Willd. 



Habitat. On the roots of various grasses, heath 

 (Erica cinerea), and also the above-named plants. It 

 was rediscovered by me in June, 1895, on the Island 

 of St. Seiriol, or Puffin Island, Anglesey, North Wales, 

 at the roots of Armeria maritima. I have since found 

 it abundantly on grass roots in loamy or sandy soil at 

 Ince, Cheshire; and on several of the islands in the 

 Western Hebrides, including the extremely isolated 

 St. Kildan group (Hirta). On the latter group the 

 insects occurred on roots which had penetrated among 

 the stones and into the rock fissures, chiefly at an alti- 

 tude of about 1000 feet ; but I have little doubt that they 

 also occurred there at a much lower level, as I found 

 them at Lochmaddy and on other parts of the Hebrides 

 within a few feet of the sea. I believe it to be a 

 general feeder, but it does not seem to be associated 

 with ants as are most other subterranean coccids. 



Habits. Like the preceding species (R. terrestris), 

 the colonies of insects secrete a quantity of white and 

 very fragile cottony material which eventually becomes 

 more or less pulverulent and breaks up on the slightest 

 disturbance ; that which remains attached to the rock- 

 surfaces has a slight bluish tinge. Before the secre- 

 tion is disturbed it has much the appearance of the 



