388 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. [Proc. 3D Ser. 



"Psyche".^ It probably occurs in all the comparatively 

 moist regions of California west of the inner Coast Range; 

 but the limits of its distribution have not been ascertained. 

 In the Santa Clara Valley, it is found in abundance on 

 Quercus agrifolia, the live-oak, and has been observed on 

 a few scattered white-oaks, also. The insects seem to prefer 

 the more sheltered parts of the tree and are most plentiful 

 on the under sides of the branches, although they are also 

 found hidden in the cracks of the rough bark on the trunk. 

 Those on the branches are usually covered with a white 

 fungus^, while on the trunk they are free from it. The 

 scale secretes a thin pellicle of white waxy material, ellip- 

 soidal in form. The insects themselves are bright crimson 

 and may be seen through their semitransparent coverings, 

 often lying in close proximity to each other. 



First Stage (fig. i). — The insects are viviparous and 

 the young begin to appear about the last of January or the 

 first of February. In the first stage, they are about .21 mm. 

 long, elliptical in outline, and distinctly segmented. The 

 tip of the abdomen bears two lobes, each terminating in a 

 long filament and bearing a pair of spiny hairs on its inner 

 margin. The anal opening is between these lobes and is 

 surrounded by four spines. Legs are present, and the tarsi 

 are each furnished with four knobbed digitules (fig. 2). 

 In these respects, the insect resembles Dactylopius. The 

 antennge (fig. 3) are composed of five segments including 

 the basal joint, the first four being about equal in length, 

 and the last twice as long as one of the others. There are 

 two longitudinal rows of double pits on the dorsal surface 

 of the abdomen, a pair in each segment about as far apart 

 as they are distant from the lateral margins of the body. 

 The insect is very active during this stage. 



Second Stage (fig. 4). — With the first moult, important 

 changes take place in the insect. Its legs disappear, and it 

 begins to form its waxy case. Its many-jointed antennae 



1 June, 1895. 



2 This white fungus completely covers and protects the enclosed scales, and 

 undoubtedly lives in a sort of symbiotic relation with the insect. The fungus derives 

 food (honey dew) from the scale, while the scale gains an efifective protective covering. 



