58 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



forming continuous rouleaux of ova, from which any and each is 

 easily separable. It is not easy to detect the exact process, but 

 I am fully satisfied that the rouleaux of ova are bathed length- 

 wise by a fluid (fat ?) ; so long as this continues the ova are 

 smooth, but as the quantity of fluid diminishes the ova become 

 exposed to the air, sculpturing forms thereon, when quite dry the 

 ova have orthodox sculpture of deposited ova. 



There is little doubt that the bathing of the ova with fluid 

 continues until the act of deposition, and it seems certain that 

 the pattern of the ovum is due to this fluid, as it dries on ex- 

 posure to air, forming into "crystalline" shapes. The fact that 

 a few ova remained smooth is in accord with this conclusion, 

 since these were amongst the earliest exposed to the air on 

 opening the abdomen, being thereby probably too suddenly 

 deprived of the necessary fluid. 



Palmerston, N., New Zealand : Dec. 3rcl, 1901. 



THE COOCID GENUS AULACASPIS. 

 By T. D. a. Cockerell. 



The genus Aulacaspis, the type of which is A. roscB (Bouche), 

 was separated from Diaspis by the present writer in 1893. The 

 generic characters were supposed to be the strongly tricarinate 

 male scale, and the divergent median lobes of the female, serrate 

 on their long inner margins. Mr. E. Newstead, in his ' Mono- 

 graph of the Coccidae of the British Isles,' just published by the 

 Bay Society, argues that these characters are not of generic 

 importance. Nevertheless, he accepts Avlacasjns, distinguishing 

 it from Diaspis by the regular rows of dorsal glands in the 

 abdomen of the female. This character, taken as generic, gives 

 us a new classification of the species, and I have therefore 

 attempted to see whether it could be applied satisfactorily to all 

 the species of the world. After some study, I remained un- 

 decided whether or not to accept Mr. Newstead's proposed reform, 

 until I observed that by segregating the species on the proposed 

 basis Diaspis became an American genus, Aulacaspis an Old 

 World one. The type of Diaspis is D. calyptroides, which lives 

 on cacti, and is unquestionably of American origin. Other 

 species of Diaspis, tested by Mr. Newstead's character, are 

 D. celtidis, arizonicus, toivnsendi, pharadendi'i, baccharidis, and 

 australis, all American. D. carueli was first found in Europe, 

 and has been thought to be of European origin ; I now believe 

 it is American, as it is not uncommon in the United States, and 

 it is significant that the British specimens were on an American 



