198 MYTILASPIS POMORUM. 



A cassia tree in one of the Duke of Westminster's 

 conservatories at Eaton became so badly infested with 

 this insect that it had to be destroyed. To the best of 

 my knowledge this is the only instance known of this 

 pest infesting plants in cultivation under glass. 



Habits. At the end of August and the beginning of 

 September the female lays her eggs, which remain in 

 the puparium through winter. About the middle of 

 May (22nd, 1896) the minute white larva may be 

 seen actively climbing the infested trunks and branches 

 of its food-plant. In about six weeks the male puparium 

 is completed, and the perfect insects make their appear- 

 ance about the middle of July (17th, 1896). At 

 the period of fecundation the female is very small, and 

 her puparium scarcely larger than that of the male. 

 After fecundation the puparium is greatly enlarged, 

 and completed by the end of August. The absence of 

 males in this species, on certain food-plants, is most 

 remarkable. During nine years of observation I luive 

 never seen a single example of the puparium on either 

 the apple, pear, cotoneaster, currant, or hawthorn. 

 And I know of no student abroad who has ever met 

 with this sex in any stage.* Mr. Maskell, who I ins 

 devoted more time to the study of the Coccidae than any 

 entomologist, says ( f Scale Insects of New Zealand,' 

 p. 52), "Male unknown in New Zealand and Europe, 

 doubtful in America." Here in England, however, I 

 have met with it freely on /////*"* mid V(irr!n!mn., and 

 sparingly on heath (Vrirn, sp.). I shall not forget the 

 pleasure the discovery of the first male gave me. It 

 was in July, 1896, when spending the day at Benrstrd, 

 Kent, with Mr. E. E. Green. We had taken a stroll 

 together to a sand-pit in the vicinity of his house, when 

 my friend remarked there were a number of 37. /><>n/<>r/rn/ 

 on the broom bushes, and on examining a small branch 

 of the plant with a lens I discovered a male entangled 



* In the ' Fifth Missouri Report,' p. 95, Riley describes what he 

 considered the male of M. pomorum. The carious dilated hairs on the 

 antennal joints clearly show he had quite a different insect before him. 

 Recently Prof. Leonard! has found the male in Italy. 



