ON SOME OF THE FOSSIL TETTIOID^E. 183 



and insects. It is in composition nearly allied to 

 amber. There is much discrepancy as to some of the 

 sources of copal. It exudes from Bhus copalifera in 

 N. America, and from Hi/mencea verrucosa, a tree growing 

 on the east coast of Africa and in Madagascar. It is 

 harder than gum anime. It has a greater solubility in 

 liquids than amber, but some kinds of copal resist the 

 action of turpentine spirit more than others. 



On Plate G-, I have drawn a fine specimen of a Cicada 

 which was embedded in a large piece of copal brought 

 from Zanzibar. Other insect specimens were present 

 in this mass, including some well-coloured dipterous 

 and hymenopterous insects. I provisionally call it 

 Cicada Forsythii, but I omit its dia.onosis until more 

 perfect materials are at hand to furnish it. 



Gum anime is chiefly a Brazilian resin, but it is 

 also gathered in Western India and in Africa from 

 Hymencea courharil. It very commonly encloses insects 

 and plants, all probably belonging to a recent period. 



There has been considerable discussion as to the 

 significance of the wings of Palceontina oolitica. I may 

 be perhaps asked for my reasons in placing its figure 

 on Plate F. I have done so partly on the authority of 

 Mr. Scudder, who examined this unique fossil, and 

 figured it in the ' Ubersicht der fossilen Insecten,' in 

 1885. He there groups it under Strididantia (Song- 

 cicaden). Afterwards he notes the occurrence of 

 "what appears to be a pupal form of Cicada from the 

 Ehaetic of England"; and again he states his belief 

 that the wing of Palceontina is Homopterous. 



So far as my knowledge goes, the shape of this wing 

 and its venation do not accord with any known butter- 

 fly. Its occurrence in strata, ages before we find the 

 remains of flowering-plants, seems to be against such 

 a claim. The Homoptera are apparently much more 

 ancient than the Lepidoptera, and the Hemiptera are 

 well recognized in the upper oolite. 



The absence of discoidal cells and of a limbal edge, 

 whilst it removes this insect from our British singing 



