184 THE COCCIDAE 



The female nymphs of all stages are provided with a rostrum and 

 a rostralis. The three pairs of legs are present in the first nymphal 

 stage and in the second nymphal stage of some species and, when pres- 

 ent, are similar in form. The profemora are never greatly enlarged and 

 the prothoracic legs are never fitted for digging. The abdomen is 

 usually provided with octacerores, frequently present when wanting in 

 the adult, also provided with an anal ring and anal ring setae, the 

 number of anal ring setate variable, and with anal lobes and anal setae. 

 An anal cleft, opercula, and pilacerores are never present; ceratubae are 

 sometimes present. The caudal end of the rectum is not chitinized, 

 forming a rectal tube provided with one or more rings of anacerores 

 excreting a long glassy tube of wax. The caudel abdominal segment is 

 usually distinguishable and bears the anal setae. 



The males have four ocellanae, two dorsal and two ventral. The 

 abdomen is not provided with long lateral filaments or tufts of wax 

 filaments or provided with long thread-like caudal filaments. The stylus 

 is long and slender. 



This group was first recognized as a tribe by Targioni Tozzetti 

 when he proposed his generic division Lecanodiaspis and the tribal 

 name Lecanodiaspidites to include it. This subdivision was re- 

 jected by Signoret and Comstock. It was later adopted as a 

 subdivision of his Lecaniinae by Maskell and as a subfamily by 

 Cockerell in 1896 under the name of Asterolecaniinae. While it 

 was rejected by Green in 1896 in the first volume of his i i Coccidae 

 of Ceylon," he recognized it in the fourth volume published in 

 1909 after he had studied the Ceylonese species. There are less 

 than thirty-five species of Asterolecaniinae listed in Fernald's 

 Catalogue from America. The subfamily is not limited in its dis- 

 tribution, since species are found in practically all parts of the 

 world. 



While this subfamily is apparently a well founded homogenous 

 group, all its genera do not offer an abundance of characters for 

 combining them into distinctive units. The most characteristic 

 feature is the presence of octacerores or the so called 8-shaped 

 dermal glands. These are formed by the close apposition or ar- 

 rangement of the cerores in pairs. The adjacent portions of the 

 margins of the pairs of cerores are often round, but frequently 

 more or less flattened, emphasizing the resemblance to a figure 8. 

 In the genus Asterolecanium there is one or two rows of octacerores 

 arranged around the margin of the body. It is from these octa- 

 cerores that is excreted the characteristic straight or curved glassy 

 threads of wax. This forms a margin which is a thin homogenous 

 sheet produced by a partial or entire fusion of the adjacent threads. 

 The covering of wax may be opaque and have a distinct waxy 



