240 THE VICTOKIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. XXlIl. 



A NEW VARIETY OF AN ORCHID. 



By C. Walter. 



(Communicated by C. French, jun.) 



{Read before the Field Naturalists' Gluh of Victoria, 11th Feb., 1907.) 



DiURis PUNCTATA, var. d'altoni, Walter. 



This variety, collected by Mr. St. Eloy D' Alton, of Dimboola, 

 at Mt. Arapiles, near Natimuk, in December, 1906, differs 

 from the typical form of Diuris punctata, Smith, in having 

 shorter petals (only ^ of an inch in length), while the 

 lower lobes of the calyx are threadlike and much longer 

 (fully two inches in length) and of a pale green colour. This 

 variety I have named as above in honour of the finder, who for 

 many years has taken great interest in the indigenous flora of the 

 north-western and south-western divisions of Victoria. For com- 

 parison I append brief descriptions of the normal form and a 

 possible variety of this orchid. 



Diuris punctata, Smith, syn. Diuris elongata, Swartz. — Petals 

 eliptical-oblong, clawed, nearly i inch long; flowers purplish, 

 sometimes dotted ; sepals nearly 2 inches long, deflexed, 

 narrow, sometimes crossed; leaves i or 2, linear, 3 to 13 inches 

 long. — Upper Yarra, November, 1882. Coll. C. Walter. 



Diuris alba, R. Brown, syn. Diuris punctata, var. alha, F. 

 V. M. — Flowers white, blotched with violet ; lateral lobes, i to 

 nearly 2 inches long, deflexed ; leaves usually narrow, sometimes 

 one of them nearly as long as the stem below the inflorescence — 

 Keilor Plains, October, 1898. Coll. C. Walter. 



Note on a Remarkable Scale-Insect. — While on a collect- 

 ing trip to the Mallee with Mr. J. C. Goudie, I noticed on stems 

 of the Mallee Gums, E^icalyptus gracilis, some cocoon-like 

 swellings, measuring sometimes four inches long by three or more 

 inches wide and about one inch high, placed about two feet from 

 the ground, and on pulling them to pieces was surprised to see 

 imprisoned colonies of fine large scale-insects, a specimen of 

 which I sent to Mr. E. E. Green, F.E.S., of Ceylon, who pro- 

 nounced it as new to science, naming it, after myself, Lecaniodi- 

 aspis frenchii. The cocoon-like swellings are composed of bits 

 of leaves, small pieces of grass, pebbles, sand, and clay, and are 

 made by small black ants, Iridomyrmex nitidus, Mayr., which 

 completely build the scales in, leaving only a little hole through 

 which the ants run to obtain the sugary secretion from the scales. 

 Underneath the covering is quite moist, so evidently the ants 

 obtain a fair amount of food. Specimens of this scale were 

 exhibited at the last meeting of the Field Naturalists' Club. — 

 C. French, jun. 



