THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



267 



joint clubbed, second conical, tip with "sensi- 

 tive aciculi." Both joints equally long. Mentum 

 fleshy, narrow at base, broadening toward the 

 rounded tip. Apparently no Ugiila. Head 

 small, yellowish with a small aspersion of black 

 pigment on occiput. 



The hody-i n tegument exhibits under the micro- 

 scope a beautifully arranged black pigmentation 

 with fine canals between them. Legs, the mid- 

 dle and posterior pairs slightly longer than the 

 anterior. The coxal supports are prominent, 

 coxse short, trochanter very short and apparently 

 connate with the former, but the cast-off skin 

 plainly shows a ring of the former going over 

 one of the latter, thus lacking the internode of 

 the other articulations; femur and tibia with long 

 thick bristles, both pieces compressed, the latter 

 slightly shorter than the former; claw simple and 

 with two spines at middle. 



Prothorax graduallj' getting broader toward 

 base, as long as two of any of the other segments 

 together, an impression along the margin, the 

 anterior transverse line of which reaches the 

 middle of the segment. 



Mesothorax a little wider than the preceding. 



Metathorax, the widest of all the body-seg- 

 ments. About four times wider than long. 



The abdominal segments gradually diminish 

 in width toward pygidium. The three thoracic 

 segments and the first eight abdominal segments 

 with a short bristle at base of marginal scute and 

 one such bristle at tip, the latter bent back and 

 downward. Ninth dorsal segment at tip with a 

 cylindrical, immovable spine of the length of any 

 of the terzal scutes. Spiracles, nine pair; first 

 and largest near base of prothorax a little behind 

 and above the anterior coxa. Second to inclu- 

 sive fifth spiracle in the pleurites anteriorly of 

 each of the first five abdominal segments, the 

 last three spiracles are much smaller and corres- 

 pond with the sixth, seventh and eighth seg- 

 ments ; ninth segment without spiracle. 



First ventral abdominal segment and sternal 

 region remain whitish with a slight darker as- 

 persion between the coxa;. Tenth ventral seg- 

 ment prominent (anus), cylindrical, serving as a 

 propeller, fimbriate around the margin. 



AntenniE. Cylindrical, three-jointed. First 

 joint narrow, conical at base, second slightly 

 shorter than the preceding ; near tip, interiorly 

 with an ''olfactory disc," consisting of two anter- 

 ior larger and three posterior smaller areolae. 

 Third joint inserted into a fleshy, transparent, 

 retractile internode, base of third joint very nar- 

 row, getting thicker and thickest a little behind 

 middle, tip conical. Second and third joints 

 with stronger bristles than first joint. Third 

 joint bent inwardly. 



The olfactory disc can be better seen in the 

 exuviae than in the living animal. 



Potato Bugs. — Last Monday there was 

 such a swarm of potato bugs on the rails 

 of the Connecticut River Railroad between 

 South Ferry and Holyoke, Mass., that it 

 was with difficulty the locomotive could 

 draw the train through them. The crushed 

 insects made the rails very slippery, caus- 

 ing the wheels of the engine to slide. — 

 Evenitig Star, Washington, Sept. 13. 



ON THE RED OR CIRCULAR SCALE OF THE 

 ORANGE (Chrysomplialus ficus Riley MS.). 



H. ASHMEAD, JACKSONVILLE, FLA. 



BIBLIOGRAPHICAL. 



Chrysoniphaliis ficus Rilej'. Manuscript notes. 



" " " Ashmead, Fla. Ag- 



riculturist, 1879. 



" " '' Ashmead, Pacific 



Rural Press, i88o. 



ITS FIRST APPEARANCE IN FLORIDA. 



In September, 1879, I received the fol- 

 lowing communication, with specimens of 

 infested leaves, from Mr. G. M. Holmes: 

 Orlando, Orange Co., Fla., Sept. 20, 1880. 



Dear Sir : — Inclosed I hand you a Leaf of an 

 orange-tree infested with what appears to be a 

 species of scale insect, which is new to us down 

 here. It spreads from tree to tree very rapidly, 

 and is not confined to the leaf, but appears upon 

 tender stems and thorns. As you can see, it 

 turns the leaf yellow wherever it locates itself. 



[Fig. 146.] 



Portion of Orange Leaf infested with Lhrysoinphalii^ ficus 

 (after Ashmead). 



I should like to know whether it is an enemy 

 much to be dreaded, and, if you have had experi- 

 ence with it, the cure. Although a stranger to 

 you, I see by the Florida Agriculttmst that you 

 have made the insects on orange-trees a study, 

 and I thought you might give me some informa- 

 tion about this particular insect. Yours, respect- 

 fully,— G. M. Holmes. 



The scale being new to me, I immedi- 

 ately forwarded specimens to Prof. C. V. 

 Riley, and from his reply I quote the fol- 

 lowing : " The circular, dark-brown scale 

 with a golden centre has long been in my 

 cabinet, and I have found it quite injurious 

 to Ficus nitida. I have designated it by 

 the manuscript name Chrysoinphalus ficus, 

 but have published no description of it, as 

 the mere description of the scale without 

 fully characterizing the insect that makes 

 it, in both sexes, is imperfect entomological 

 work." 



