116 ASPIDIOTUS SPINOSTJS. 



very broad and flat; the fourth spine follows closely 

 the last marginal plate; the fifth spine is isolated mid 

 some considerable distance beyond the fourth. Those 

 spines on the ventral surface are shorter nnd much 

 more slender than those on the dorsal surface; there is 

 one opposite each of the second, third, and fourth 

 dorsal spines, or a little anterior to them. There is a 

 narrow, but decided, cleft in the margin between ll it- 

 median and second pairs of lobes. 



The male is apparently unknown in any stage. 



Habitat. The Royal' Gardens, Kew, is the only 

 known locality for this interesting species. It oc- 

 curred in great numbers on the huge dead leaf-stalks 

 of the magnificent and long established specimen 

 of Aremja sncrharifera, from the Malay archipelago. 

 Every insect was dead; and, judging from the mouldy 

 appearance of the scales, the insects had died long 

 since. Quite 50 per cent, were parasitised, which is 

 remarkable, as the Coccids found in this country upon 

 stove and greenhouse plants are rarely attacked by 

 insect parasites. I remember one other instance, and 

 that was an extensive colony of A. hcilenE, which were 

 perfectly riddled by a wandering larva of a small 

 species of Diptera. 



It is probably a Palaearctic insect ; Professor 

 Comstock's types were from the United States, and, 

 excepting our British examples, it is not known to 

 occur elsewhere. The species comes very near to A. 

 Camellias, Sign., but the presence of grouped circum- 

 genital glands easily distinguishes it from the latter. 

 Moreover, the huge marginal spines easily separate it 

 from all other species of Aspidiotus. 



EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES. 



PL X, fig. 3. Pygidium of adult female. X 250. 

 PL XI, fig. 4. Margin of adult female. X 600. 



