14 CHAS. K. BRAIN. 



i;he point from which the chitinisation of the integument appears to spread in the 

 Lecaniinae. This suggests that, although the insects examined are adult, they 

 may not be quite mature. 



Antennae of 8 segments, range in a : (1) 37-41, (2) 48-58, (3) 102-112, (4) 58-68. 

 (5) 61-68, (6) 31-34, (7) 27-34, (8) 44-51. 



Leg I : coxa 88, femur + trochanter 238, tibia 170, tarsus 102, claw 24/<. 



Margin with conspicuous fringe of long spines (136/<) with tips saw- like or finger- 

 hke. Dorsum with three longitudinal rows of long (143//) spines. Anal plates long, 

 tapering (280/i). Stigmatic clefts inconspicuous with two very short spines and 

 one longer (about half the length of marginal spines). 



Habitat: On grapevine, Durban; collected by C. P. v. d. Merwe, May 1917. 



Collection No. : 321. 



Genus Hemilecanium, Newstead. 



" Adult female with the posterior extremity not cleft. Anal orifice placed near 

 the middle of the dorsum and closed above with a pair of hinged plates as in 

 Lecanium.. Larva and nymph with a distinct anal cleft as in Lecanium. Female 

 in all stages with four large dorsal groups of compound spinnerets." (Newstead). 



209. Hemilecanium theobromae, Newst. (Plate i., fig. 238). 



Hemilecanium theohromae, Newst., Jl. Econ. Biol, iii, pt. 2, p. 39, 1908. 



Professor Newstead's description, omitting figure references, is as follows : — 



" Adult female broadly ovate or sub-circular ; margins broadly flat, central 

 area suddenly elevated, with strong irregular prominences. The whole of the 

 dorsal area covered with a thin but dense layer of ochreous meal-like wax, but the 

 prominences of the dorsum are generally denuded, apparently through abrasion, 

 appearing through the secretion as shining, piceous, irregularities. Cuticle shining 

 dark piceous on the central elevated area ; dark castaneous and strongly rugose 

 at the margins. Venter covered with a rather thick layer of white fibrous secretion. 

 Anal cleft obsolete, but there is usually a faint emargination at the posterior 

 extremity. Anal orifice placed just within the broad elevated dorsal zone at 

 about one-third of the distance from the posterior margin. Derm cells 

 of two distinct types ; those of the dark central area narrowly elongate 

 mth an apical pore, those of the pale broad margin of the ordinary polygonal 

 type. There are also four groups of spinnerets ; two towards the anterior 

 and two towards the posterior extremity, each group composed of several hundred 

 spinnerets forming well-defined dark chitinised areas. Antenna of nine segments, 

 of which the third is the longest ; there are a few long hairs on the four terminal 

 segments ; formula 3, 4 (5, 2, 9) 6, 1 (7, 8). Legs highly chitinised ; slender but 

 small compared with the size of the insect ; coxa almost equalhng the length of 

 the femur ; digitules simple. Marginal spines with their broad bases suddenly 

 contracted, each fitting into a well-defined socket, the latter being attached to a 

 short subcutaneous tube. Stigmatic channels and spines absent. 



" Length 13-15 mm. : width 12-13 mm. 



