246 NEWSTEADIA FLOCCOSA. 



French, Entomologist to the Victorian Department of 

 Agriculture, has sent me examples of a coccid found 

 * on some wet timber at the 300 feet level in a mine in 

 Gippsland, Australia.' A truly remarkable situation 

 in which to find living Coccidte! The insect proves to 

 be Orthezia floccosa, De Geer. European examples of 

 this species are usually found amongst wet moss or 

 sphagnum. It is possible that they may feed either 

 on these mosses or upon Algae associated therewith. 

 These Australian examples may have been carried 

 down from the surface with the timber used in the 

 mine, and may have sustained themselves upon such 

 cryptogamic plants during their sojourn under ground. 

 All the species of Orthezia appear to be able to exist 

 for long periods without food (a characteristic found 

 also in many Monophlebin&). These same insects 

 survived the journey by post from Australia to Ceylon, 

 absolutely without food, and are still living in the pill- 

 box in which they were received." Mr. Green's paper 

 is dated August, 1902, but he does not say when the 

 insects were despatched from Victoria or when he 

 received them. 



EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE. 



PI. LXXIV, fig. 1. Old adult female with fully 



developed marsupium (dorsal). X 7. 

 Fig. 2. Young adult female with the marsupium 



(a) about two-thirds developed. X 7. 

 Fig. 3. Dorsal view of a similar specimen. X 7. 

 Figs. 4 a, 1. Adult female after treatment with 



potash ; a, marginal gland-tract ; I, marsupial 



gland- tract. X 25. 



Fig. 5. Antenna of the adult female. X 70. 

 Fig. 6. Tibio-tarsal joint of the adult female. X 70. 

 Fig. 7. Mentum of the adult female. X 70. 

 Fig. 8. Group of glandiferous spines of the adult 



female. X 150. 



