14 THE FEMALE. 



Signoretia luzulae, L. Duf., and Eriopeltis festitcae, 

 FonscoL, construct closely felted ovisacs, in which they 

 lay their eggs, and from which they afterwards fall to 

 the ground and perish, leaving a place of exit at the 

 cephalic extremity of the sac as a means of escape for 

 the young. 



Asterodiaspis is well represented in our small indi- 

 genous A. quercicola. It is a very common insect, 

 occurring on oak in many counties, but is apparently 

 less common in certain portions of Northumberland. 

 It is the only British Coccid which makes any attempt 

 at the formation of a gall, though it cannot be said to 

 be a true gall-maker, but yet it has the power of pro- 

 ducing deep circular depressions or pits, accompanied 

 by a very marked concentric swelling upon the terminal 

 branches of the oak. The male has been described, 

 but has not so far been met with in England. 



Eriococcu* makes a very closely felted sac, which in 

 E. insiynis, Newst., holds together almost as a woven 

 fabric. E. devoniensis, Green, not only makes a well- 

 formed sac, but also has the power of contorting the 

 shoots of the Erica which it infests, causing little 

 rosettes of leaves at the tips of the twigs. 



The mealy bugs are the most familiar of all Coccid s 

 to horticulturists. Only one* indigenous species is at 

 present known, viz. Dactylopius walker i, Newst. ; D. 

 citri, Boisd., and D. longispinus, Targ.-Tozz., are the 

 common pests of our hothouses. 



The genus Ripersia is closely allied to Dactylopius, 

 but has fewer joints to the antennae, and most of the 

 species are of subterranean habits, living on roots of 

 plants in ants' nests. No males of the genus have yet 

 been observed, and it would be of the greatest value 

 and interest to discover them. 



The beautiful species of the genus Ortliezia are 

 readily distinguished from other Coccids by the body 

 being covered with thin plates of pure white wax of an 

 exceedingly fine texture, which overlap and form a 



* D. hibernicus, Newst., and D. radicum, Newst. are now added. 



