D THE OVUM. 



either open at the cephalic extremity or completely 

 closed. In Pulvinaria the ovisac takes the form of a 

 pad or cushion behind and beneath the parent insect. 

 In LicMenxia, Signoretia, and Eruipeltix they are 

 practically complete, except at the anterior extremity, 

 which is left open for the escape of the young larvae, 

 while Erioeoccus insignis, Newst., hermetically encloses 

 herself with her eggs in a very closely felted sac. Tin- 

 " mealy bugs " take less pains than any other of the 

 British Coccids, merely enclosing the eggs in irregul Mi- 

 aggregated patches of loose cottony material, which 

 renders the plants they attack so very unsightly. 



In the majority of instances the eggs are laid in 

 irregular masses, filling the space provided by the 

 parent insect; but hchnaspis filiformi*, Doug., pine* > 

 them transversely side by side, forming a long con- 

 tinuous series up the centre of the puparium or shield. 

 Parlatoria proteus, var. crotonis, also places tlinn 

 transversely in the puparium, but arranges tin m in 

 two parallel rows, as shown at PI. XXXI, fig. -\. 



THE LARVA. 



In this stage the sexes are rarely distinguishable, 

 and so closely allied are the larvae of certain genera, 

 e. g. Lecanium and Phtjsolcermes, that it is almost 

 impossible to separate them. 



On hatching from the egg, the larvae, in the majority 

 of species, remain for a few days huddled together 

 within the covering provided for them, whether it be 

 the cottony or felted sac; or, as in Lf.'canium, tliu 

 highly chitinised body of their dead parent. On 

 escaping from their birthplace they are very active 

 mite-like creatures, but their period of activity is, in 

 the majority of cases, of short duration, as they 

 quickly settle down upon the food-plant, whether bark, 

 leaf, or fruit, and immediately insert their long hair- 

 like sucking apparatus into its tissues, and suck or 



