106 



broad, and the abdominal segments compressed. Length of the 

 body, about one-fortieth of an inch. The last segment of the 

 abdomen bears on each side three longish sette. Antennae (t) of 

 ten joints, the first very short, the rest sub-equal, elliptical, 

 except the second, which is dilated at the tip ; all the joints bear 

 hairs. Feet (^v) slender ; upper digitules long and slender, lower 

 pair short ; fine hairs. Abdominal spike (?r) conical, pointed. 



Habitat. — On Pittosporum undulatum. South Australia. 



This is an anomalous and peculiar insect, and if the joints of 

 the antennae, in the adult female, have really more than six joints, 

 as they may well have, it must be removed from the genus Erio- 

 coccus. The absence of the feet is also an abnormal character. 

 In general outline the female resembles the New Zealand insect 

 Eriococcus Jioheria", but in that the feet are present, though 

 atrophied. 



Group — ^Coccidix.e. 



subdivision dactylopidie- 



Genus — Ripersia, Signoret. 

 Adult females stationary, excreting much white meal and cot- 

 ton ; antennae of six joints ; anogenital ring with six hairs ; anal 

 tubercles present but, in the adult, not conspicuous. 



Ripersia lej)tos])ermi. sp. no v. Plate xiv., fig. o. 

 Adult female flattish, a little raised and carinated on the dor- 

 sum ; outline sub-circular, or if in a depression of the leaf propor- 

 tionately compressed ; colour dark purple, covered with white 

 meal ; producing rich red colour when immersed in potash. From 

 the edge of the body radiate all round a large number of very 

 long, fine, white, cottony, curling filaments which are also slightly 

 arched, forming a kind of bower, under which is a mass of more 

 granular cotton, slightly tinged with yellow, in which the eggs 

 are laid and hatched. The filaments are in tufts set close together, 

 and their average leng^th is about twice the diameter of the insect. 

 Antenna?, (a) of six joints, of which the two first are very short, 

 the last three sub-globular and sub-equal, and the tliird nearly 

 half as long as the whole antenna ; on the last joint are a few 

 short conical bristles, on the third are two hairs, and one or two 

 hairs on the rest. A " false joint " occurs on the third joint, as 

 in some Lecanida?. Feet (h) very long and slender ; the tibia 

 very little longer than the tarsus ; claw slender ; upper digitules 

 long knobbed hairs, lower digitules short and very fine. Rostrum 

 (c) short ; mentum dimerous. The body has twelve inconspicuous 

 segments, and at the edge is a row of twenty-four groups of large 

 projecting tubular spinnerets with wide bases (two to each seg- 

 ment), from which spring the tufts of long, white, cottony 



