l894-] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 211 



British Columbia. Douglas records what was thought to be L. 

 lauri (Boisduval) on Hedera; but as Mr, Maskell has pointed 

 out, it appears to be impossible to recognize lauri as a species 

 distinct from hesperidiun. If lauri were to be held distinct, per- 

 haps the specimens from Mr. Fletcher might be referred to it; 

 but my own experience of these forms, though not very exten- 

 sive, quite bears out Mr. Maskell's contention that the two names 

 indicate but one species. 



(4.) Aspidiohcs hederce (Vallot) Signoret. — Found on ivy and 

 other evergreen plants in Europe. In America it is not recog- 

 nized, but A. nerii (Bouche) is recorded as found on ivy in 

 Florida and New York. On leaves of Hedera helix from British 

 Columbia, sent by Mr. Fletcher, were scales which I noted as 

 Aspidiotus nerii variety. Having now received some ivy leaves 

 from Mountain View, California (E. M. Ehrhorn), much infested 

 by the same scale on the upper side, I have been led to look 

 more closely into the matter. The scales are pale brown, with 

 sublateral pale yellowish very inconspicuous exuviae; in structure, 

 the insect is like A. nerii; there are three pairs of lobes, and the 

 usual groups of ventral glands. Certainly, to the best of my 

 judgment, the insect is a variety of 7ierii. But is hederce the 

 same ? The European species is supposed to have central exuviae, 

 and no groups of ventral glands, otherwise it seems to agree 

 sufficiently. 



My impression decidedly is, that our nerii var. on ivy is true 

 hederce, notwithstanding apparent discrepancies; but if so, the 

 two are hardly distinct species. Should this surmise prove cor- 

 rect when European hederce has been compared with true neriiy ' 

 a curious result appears to follow, — namely, that A. hederce stands 

 as the species, and 7ierii (typical form on oleander) falls as a va- 

 riety of it. A. nerii dates from 1833; according to Comstock, 

 the date oi hedera is 1829. I gather from Signoret's work, how- 

 ever, that Vallot published two papers, the first in 1830, the second 

 in 1839. I must leave it to those who have access to the papers 

 of this author to ascertain the true date. 



(5.) Asterolecanium hederce (Licht.) — Found in France, and 

 described as a Planchonia. P. valloti Licht. is the same. Dr. 

 J. V. Cams has kindly copied for me the original description, to 

 which I had not access. Last year Targioni-Tozzetti described 

 Asterolecanium massalongianum, a supposed new species found 



