280 [December, 



"written of the species, through this peculiar but not very unusual 

 habit, for I find that the sexes of the Goccidoe often live apart, although 

 not to such an extent as this species. Although I examined many 

 scores of the leaves containing males, I failed to find a single female. 

 For all this, however, the latter do undoubtedly occur on the leaves, 

 as stated by other authors, but this habit must be abnormal, or else 

 how could they perpetuate their species P . I take it that every ? that 

 fixes itself to a leaf must naturally perish with it when it falls to the 

 ground in the autumn. I have noticed a similar habit with Lecanium 

 persicce, Fab. : last year when I was examining some peach trees that 

 were badly infested with this scale, 1 noticed that the leaves were 

 almost covered with minute yellow specks ; on examining these more 

 carefully, they were found to be the larvse of the above Lecanium ; 

 they were quite fixed, and their bodies had grown so as to completely 

 cover their legs. In this situation they remained till autumn, and 

 with the leaves fell to the ground, where they must have perished. 



As to the colour of the scale of the $ which I find on the bark 

 of the oak, it is of a smoky-grey or nearly black, exactly corresponding 

 to the bark of the tree on which it rests, with the exuvise reddish- 

 yellow. Hitherto the scales have been described as " whitish," but I 

 attach no importance to this difference. In the Ent. Mo. Mag. (vol. 

 xxiv, p. 207, and xxv, 120) Mr. Morgan has given a lengthy and in- 

 teresting description of this species, and has brought together all the 

 information that was possible to obtain at that time ; but there are 

 some slight discrepancies between the description of Mr. Morgan's 

 specimens and the descriptions given by Dr. Signoret. The chief 

 difference being the discovery of grouped spinnerets by Mr. Morgan 

 in his specimens from Oporto ; while on the other hand, specimens 

 collected in France by Dr. Signoret and in England by Mr. Douglas 

 were found to be without spinnerets. But Mr. Morgan attributes 

 the absence of spinnerets to the immaturity of the specimens. Be 

 this as it may, I think Mr. Morgan will agree with me that the adult 

 ? may or may not possess grouped spinnerets, for I fail to find them 

 in the many examples which I have examined from this district, and 

 what is more important, a single adult ? from Oporto, kindly given 

 to me by Mr. Morgan, is also without them. The fringe of the pygi- 

 dium in my specimens is identical with the description and the 

 specimen given by Mr. Morgan (Ent. Mo. Mag., xxiv, 207), so that 

 I have not the least doubt as to the identity of my specimens ; and I 

 may add that Mr. Douglas has also forwarded me ^ scales for com- 

 })arison, and which I find to agree in every way with mine. In the 



