120 THE COCCIDAE 



The segmentation of the body is distinct and is usually made 

 clearer by the covering of mealy wax. The antennae are articulated 

 to the ventral aspect of the head and the single ocellana on each 

 side shows prominently on the ventral surface through the presence 

 of black pigment. The female molts three times and passes through 

 three nymphal stages. The females are very similar in all the 

 stages, the only striking difference between them is that of size. 

 Even this is not constant for there is considerable variation in the 

 size of different individuals even of the same age or stage. There 

 is also a variation, as in other coccids, in the number of antenna] 

 segments present in individuals of the various stages. 



It is impossible to differentiate the males from the females 

 during the first nymphal stage, except in mounted specimens ,that 

 have almost completed the first nymphal stage. Berlese has 

 pointed out that in such individuals, the mandibles and maxillae 

 of the second stage of the female can be identified before those 

 of the first stage are shed. They can be observed coiled spirally 

 on each side of the meson beneath the cuticle of the body. Since 

 the males lose their rostralis at the first molt in most if not all 

 species of this subfamily, there is no such spirally coiled rostralis 

 to be observed under the cuticle in this sex. 



The nymphs of the male molt four times in Pseudococcus 

 citri and pass through four nymphal stages. The male nymphs 

 are sluggish and seek some secluded spot where they spin a cocoon 

 of felted threads of wax. The second molt occurs soon after the 

 completion of the cocoon and the cast skins are pushed out of the 

 end of the cocoon. The eyes of the adult male are simple, six 

 ocellanae, a pair of comparatively large ones on the dorsal aspect. 

 a similar pair on the ventral aspect, and one on each lateral aspect 

 which are about one-half the size of the others. They are some- 

 times designated as the primitive eyes and are considered as 

 representing the ocellanae present in the first nymphal stage. 

 The supposition being that they have been retained through all the 

 nymphal stages although not identifiable in the latter ones. They 

 are also considered as ocelli and the large facets in such cases are 

 designated as eyes. The number of ocellanae varies in the males 

 of other genera than Pseudococcus, that is, there is more than six. 

 Writers are careless about stating the number in most cases. The 

 wingless males of Fonscolombia have retained only the lateral 

 ocellanae. Whether the wingless males of other groups have only 

 the lateral ocellanae is not known. The wing-pads and developing 



