60 • [August, 



others had on the disc an irregular pale yellow spot, more or less fimbriate, which 

 he thinks may have been been the result of the attack of parasites. 



In his "Catalogus," p. 33, No. 18, Targioni-Tozzetti indicates 

 " Lecanium bituberculatum, nob., sp. n." but without description; 

 under this name it was sent to Signoret, who described it, I. c. ; he 

 says of it, " Ce Lecanium est un des plus jolis," and states that it is 

 common on whitethorn at Florence and in the South of France. 



On February 15th last Mr. E. Parfitt sent from Exeter one, and 

 on March 20th the other of the two scales described above, which he 

 had just found on twigs of hawthorn (Crataegus oxyacantha) in a 

 hedge ; this is the first time the species is known to have been taken 

 in Britain. On the 4th of April, on a hawthorn hedge at Lee, within 

 a space of two yards, I found 24 scales of this species, always on 

 shoots of last year's growth, sometimes singly, at others two or three 

 close together, mostly at the base of a thorn or bud ; but they were 

 localized, for I sought in vain for more in other parts of the hedge. 



Being very much of the colour of the wood, and not unlike the 

 buds about to open, they might easily be overlooked, and I might not 

 have seen them but that by having Mr. Parfitt's specimens I knew 

 what to look for ; when the leaves are out it would be as much as a 

 bird or a parasitic insect could do to find the scales. But no bird 

 cares to molest them, or it would have attacked them in their un- 

 protected condition during the winter, and the parasite, if there be 

 one, is already within the shell. I observe that there is in the scales 

 a certain range of variation in form and colour, and the small tubercles 

 (which are at times behind and not before the large ones) are often 

 wanting ; but the distinctive characters of thi3 remarkable scale are 

 always present. On the under-side the margin all round is greatly 

 widened inwardly, forming a broad, flat ledge for adherence to the 

 site, a provision against the roughness of winter, most advantageous 

 to scales containing the germs of the next generation. As a rule, the 

 female scales of the Lecania in general fall off after the larvae have 

 come out from them in the summer, and the few that may happen to 

 remain during the winter are slightly attached, empty, dull and tar- 

 nished, but these of L. bituberculatum after hibernation are tightly 

 adherent, fresh and bright, and contain each 200 to 250, or more, 

 loose, plump, pale yellow eggs. It is quite possible that these may 

 produce a summer brood, from which the scales to be found in the 

 spring may come ; but this is only theoretical. 



8, Beaufort Gardens, Lewisham : 

 April, 1888. 



