26 THE CALIFORNIA SPECIES OF MEALY BUGS 



Anal Ring. The character of the anal ring has in the past been 

 used to some extent in defining certain of the larger groups, but it is 

 questionable whether the grouping thus obtained is at all natural. On 

 the basis of the compound setiferous anal ring the Ortheziinae are more 

 closely related to the Pseudococcine group than to the Monophlebinae, 

 yet the probabilities are that the reverse of this is true. To some extent 

 the anal ring is of generic value, but it needs to be supplemented by other 

 characters. In one case I have found it of real specific value and in a 

 few other cases it is of some assistance. 



But little reliance should be placed upon the number of hairs on the 

 anal ring in forming conclusions as to the relationships of genera. Brain 

 (2) has referred the genus Puto to the Eriococcini because of the pres- 

 ence of eight hairs on the anal ring, yet this genus most certainly has 

 nothing to do with Eriococcus. The genus Ceroputo was originally sep- 

 arated from Puto largely because of a difference in the number of hairs 

 on the anal ring, yet other evidence indicates that this division is unde- 

 sirable. Lachnodius has as many as 20 hairs on the anal ring, yet in 

 other respects is clearly Pseudococcine. 



Spiracles. I have not been able to see that the spiracles merit any 

 very special consideration in this group except in cases such as the genus 

 Antonina, where they are extraordinarily large. 



Larvae 



The first stage larvae of all the species examined by me have six- 

 segmented antennae except in the genus Puto, in which the antennae are 

 seven-segmented. Except in the genus Antonina the larvae of the female 

 differ from the adult female in the reduced number of antennal seg- 

 ments, the somewhat stouter character of the legs and in a general reduc- 

 tion of the number of pores and spines. There appear to be four instars. 

 Specimens in the first two instars are hardly recognizable specifically, but 

 specimens in the third instar can usually be recognized as easily as can 

 the mature females. Specimens in these stages may be distinguished 

 from the adult female by the apparent absence of the vaginal opening. 



The larvae of the males of Pseudococcus, and in all probability of 

 most of the other genera, do not differ in the first instar from the larvae 

 of the female, but in the second instar the anal ring is simple and hair- 

 less, the mouthparts are entirely lacking, and the cerarii are represented 

 merely by paired, slender setae. A notable exception is presented by the 

 genus Puto, in which the second stage larvae of the males are indistin- 

 guishable from the second stage larvae of the females. In all cases 

 investigated the larvae form a small waxen cocoon in which pupation 



