No. 5.] Scale Insects in Madras. 21 



SCALE INSECTS IN MADRAS. 



BY H. NEWSTEAD, F.E.S., CURATOR OF THE GROSVENOR 

 MUSEUM, CHESTER, ENGLAND. 



[With two plates.) 



All the insects described in this paper were collected by Miss. L. E. 

 Tomlin, Chester, England, during her visit to Madras, 1892-93, Ac 

 least two of the species are of economic importance, viz., leery a eegi/p- 

 tiactim, Doug., and Dactylopius ceriferuSy n. sp., the rest do not appear 

 to be injurious, but they may at any time present themselves as such, 

 therefore it is as well to publish what is known nf them at once. The 

 discovery of the male of Ceroplastes ceriferuSf Anderson, is of great 

 interest and scientific value, and I have much pleasure in appending the 

 description and figures. 



It must also be added that Miss Tomlin made careful coloured 

 drawings from life of all the insects ; these have been very helpful to 

 me in the preparation of my descriptions. Some of the figures have 

 been reproduced on the plates, and are gratefully acknowledged. 



For the names of the food-plants, so far as it was possible to obtain 

 them from the inadequate material available, I am considerably indebted 

 to Prof. Oliver, Kew, England. 



« THE INDIAN WHITE WAX INSECT." 

 Ceroplastes ceriferus, Anderson. — Plate II, Fig. 1. 

 In this publication (Volume II, pp. 91-97) Mr. E. C. Cotes has 

 given a most interesting account of the female of this species, and the 

 uses of its white wax. So far, however, no one has given any detailed 

 description of the female and nothing has hitherto been ascertained as 

 to the transformations of the insect. Miss Tomlin, however, was fortu- 

 nate in obtaining many examples in various stages, from a low bushy 

 shrub {Asclepiadrom) , growing in sandy soil at seven Pagodas, Madras, 

 in February 1898, which were carefully packed and forwarded to me. 

 There were many examples of the adult female on the stems of the food- 

 plant, with their thick, irregular coverings of white wax, but there 

 were neither eggs nor larvae in them ; judging from the colour and 

 condition of the wax, I should say that the females had been dead some 

 time, and this is what one would expect as the young females yieve when 

 taken at the period of fecundation. On the leaves, and more rarelv on 

 the stems, were numerous examples of the young females (second stage), 

 and scales of the male, all of the latter were apparently empty. On 

 looking carefully over the debris at the bottom of the packet, I found 



