rfiOCEEDIiS-GS OF THE THIRD ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 431 



Aleurocanthus spimfems, Quaint. (Plate 77.) 



Aleurodes spinifera, Quaint. — Quaintance, Canadian Entomologist, 



Vol. XXXIV, p. 63 (1902). 

 Aleyrodes sfinijera, Quaint. — Quaintance, Genera Insectorum, Fasc. 



87, p. 10 (1908). 

 AleurocantMs sfinifems, Quaint. — U. S. Dept. Agri., Tech. Series, No. 27, 



Pt. II, p. 102 (1904). 

 Distribution. — Java, India. 



The nymphs and adults of A. sjoiniferus were first observed by me 

 early in September 1908 in the Botanic gardens at Pusa on orange, 

 lemon and pomelo leaves. It, however, appeared on a number of trees 

 in the same area in the following year when 23 out of 51 trees were 

 full of the black mealy-wings in all stages. The nymphs and the adults 

 exude honey-dew so copiously that it lies thickly on the leaves, giving 

 rise to a black fungus. I have observed these for a number of years 

 but have not found them to be in any way injurious to the plants, which 

 however, look unhealthy with a thick deposit of a black fungus which 

 interferes with the proper function of the leaves and causes them thereby 

 to become prematurely seared. Such leaves drop off with the nymphs 

 and puparia on them and when blown away by the wind estabhsh the 

 mealy-wings on hitherto unaffected plants. Besides this, there is a 

 pecuhar aroma or smell wafted from the infested trees and it is probably 

 due to this that a number of Syrphidee were seen to be hovering about 

 them. An unusually large number of Vespidse were also to be seen visiting 

 the infested plants, probably for the sake of the honey-dew. I did not 

 notice ants attending either the nymphs or the adults on the trees. 

 The eggs, the nymphs and puparia are to be seen on the lower surface 

 of the leaves invariably. In no case were these seen on the upper sur- 

 face of leaves. During 1910 the mealy-wing was very abundant on a 

 large number of Citrus spp. plants in the Botanical area at Pusa. On 

 the 28th July 1910, a large number of Sylhet orange plants were swarm- 

 ing with the Aleyrodid in every stage of development and so profuse 

 was the exudation of the honey-dew and the subsequent development 

 of Caynodium sp. on the leaves, that they looked black from a distance. 

 But for this, the plants did not seem to be any way the worse. They 

 seemed to be flowering and fruiting like others which were not so badly 

 affected and which were situated at a distance from the former. 



Copulation takes place from side to side and the male may be seen 

 shaking its anal end briskly from side to side and flapping its wingg 

 which are thinly covered with a white meal. Copulation lasts for from 

 four or five minutes when the male flies off. The female lays eggs in 



VOL. II. B 



