240 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



seventh joist is " tres porlu et parfois subdi^dse en 

 deux." ■S\'hen Newstead wrote his description 

 Giaxd's had not appeared, bat Giard has a fev. 

 months' priority of poblication. 



(5) Ex^RBTOPUS FORMiCETicoLA, Newstead, 1S94. 



Found by Mr. W. A. Luff in ants' nests in 

 Guernsey. 2 J to 3^ millinietres long, sub-oval, 

 more or less reddish-brown. Antennae eight- 

 jointed, slooder. quite diSetent from those of the 

 Lecanopsis, last joint very small. Anterior tarsi 

 two-jointed. For fall particulars see Ent. Mo. 

 Mag., 1894, P- 204. 



(6^ RiEESsiA TOJSiLiOTi, Mewstcad, iSgz. 



Discovered by Miss Tomlin (so it should have 

 been called Tomlinae) on grass roots in ants' nests, 

 Moulin Huet, Guernsey (See Ent. Mo. Mag, 

 1892, p. 146. and 1893, p. 77.) It is associated 

 with Teiramorittm czspUum in Guernsey, and vnth. 

 Lasms alieittis in Aldemey. Female, dull orange- 

 yellow, dongate-oval, 2 to 3 millimetres long. 

 Antennae sevai-jointed. 



(7) RiPEKSiA sxJBTERRAKfEA, Newstead, 1S93. 



On roots of Nardus stricta in nests of Laswsjlavus, 

 in :7:r::"^. (See Ent. Mo. Mag., 1893, p. 79.) 

 Fr— i.e £u:pyriform, dark red-brown. 



(8) RiPERSiA FORiacicoLA, Maskell, 1892. 



Found by Mr. W.W. Smith, in New Zealand, in 

 nests of Momomorittmsuteri, Forel, M. nitidum, Smith, 

 and M. smUhii, Forel. It had been reported to 

 occur in the nests also of Huberia striata, but this 

 was an error. Female, yellow, brown or red, 

 flatfish, carcnlar or slightly elongated, powdered 

 with white meal and having a number of white 

 cottony tassels all round the margin. Antennae 

 six-jointed. 



(9) RiFERSIA KESGn, Ckll., 1896. 



Found by Mr. G. B. King, in Massachusetts, 



with LastHS flatus. Pink, shading into purple. 



Antennae six-jointed. For the full account of this 



and the next two speaes, see Canad. Entom., 



• September, 1896. 



(10) RiPERSiA LASIX, CkU., 1896. 

 Found by Mr. G. B. King, in Massachusetts, 



with Lasius ameriaiMis and L. Jiavus. Clear white, 

 anteaox seven-jointed, sometimes six-jointed. 



(11) RlPERSIA FLAVEOLA, Ckll., 1896. 



Found by Mr. G. B. King, in Massachtisetts, 

 with Lashis claviger. Light yellow, antennae six- 

 jointed, sometimes seven-jointed. 



(12) DACTYLOPrcS KINGU, D. sp. 



Adult {emaie, oval, distinctly s^^ented, 3 milli- 

 metres long, 2 millimetres broad, very mealy, and 



covered with white cotton}- secretion. Colour 

 (beneath the meal) a delicate pale pink ; the in- 

 ternal juices are verj' bright pink. (Lately 

 hatched larvae are of the same colour as the adult.) 

 Legs and antennae, verj- pale brownish. Boiled in 

 caustic soda the insects do not stain the Uquid in 

 the least. Antennae eight-jointed, 8 much longest, 

 very long, cj^lindrical, not at all swollen, with three 

 whorls of hairs, it is longer than 6 + 7:1 next 

 longest ; 2 and 3 equal, and neither so long as the 

 breadth of i at base (i is just as long as its basal 

 breadth); 5 equal to 3. Formula 8i(235)(67)4, 

 but there is httle difference between the joints 

 from 2 to 7, except that 4 is very short, little 

 more than half as long as 3. Mouth parts 

 small ; rostral loop barely reaching to base of 

 middle legs. Legs ordinarj', rather bristly, 

 femur only moderately stout, longer than tibia. 

 Tarsus about 5 length of tibia. Claw stout, 

 cur^'ed ; all the digitales filiform. Anal ring 

 with the usual six bristles. Caudal tubercles 

 practically obsolete, each with a bristle very Httle 

 longer than that of the anal ring, and also some 

 minute bristles, and two short, stout, conical spines. 

 Discovered by Mr. G. B. King in nests of Lasius 

 claviger, Rog., at Methuen, Massachusetts, Nov. 4th, 

 1896. The females, covered vnth. their cottony 

 down, look Kke little balls of snow in the nests, 

 Mr. King says. Another lot of specimens is from 

 Lasius americanus, L. jiavus and L. claviger, Methuen, 

 Haverhill, and Lawrence, Mass., all found by Mr. 

 King. They occurred on the underside of the 

 stones covering the nests. Specimens of this 

 second lot show an antennal formula 8(12)3(567)4, 

 and the claw has a minute denticle on the inner 

 side ; but I have no doubt they are the same species. 

 This is the third trul}' native Dactyl opius from 

 the eastern United States. It resembles the other 

 two (D. trifclii, Forbes, and D. sorghiellus, Forbes) 

 a good deal, but is apparently distinct. A reference 

 to a similar coccid, not identified, is given by 

 McCook, Trans. Amer. Entom. Soc, 1877, p. 288. 

 As it is described as dark red it is more likely to 

 have been D. trifolii than D. hingii. 



Several other species of Dactylopius have been 

 found more or less associated with ants. In New 

 Zealand, D. poce, Maskell, and D. areccs, Maskell, 

 have been found with Monomorium nitidum and 

 Huieria striata, but thej^ are not strictly ants'-nest 

 species. D. poz is pink, with thin white meal ; 

 D. areccB is 3-ello■\^ish-brown or reddish. Forel has 

 recorded the ant Brachymyrmex heeri, Forel, as 

 associated vsdth Dactylopius adonidum and Lecanium 

 hemisphcericu7n. In Trinidad, Dactylopius nipa is 

 tended by an ant, Azteca chartifex. In Michigan, 

 Professor Davis found D. trifolii vAth Lasius niger ; 

 this trifolii is reddish-brown, vnih a mealy covering 

 as in our insect, the antennal formula is 83(27)15(46), 

 in the winter 8(35)2(1467). 



J 



