43 



ON A NEW SPECIES OF LECANIUM FROM NORTHERN NIGERIA. 



By E. E. Green, F.E.S., F.Z.S. 



Lecanium catori, sp. no v. 



Adult female reddish or brownish ochreous with a dark marginal zone, to uniform 

 dark castaneous. Broadly oval to sub circular ; flat ; margin evenly rounded, without 

 trace of stigmatic clefts (fig. 1, a). Anal cleft completely fused, its position marked 

 by a slight ridge and thickening of the derm. Anal operculum approximately 

 central, the distance from posterior margin of body to anterior extremity of operculum 

 being equivalent to nine-twentieths of the total length. Valves of operculum (fig. 1, d) 

 elongate ; basal edge nearly twice as long as outer edge ; inner edge more than twice 

 the length of the outer edge. Antenna (fig. 1, c) 7- jointed : formula, 3, 7, (2, 4), 5, 6, 

 or (3, 4, 7), 2, 5, 6. In some examples there are traces of a division in the third joint. 



Fig. 1. Lecanium catori, Green, sp. n. ; a, adult 



female ; h, cells on the derm ; c, antenna ; 



d, valves of operculum ; e, dorsal margin. 



Limbs rather slender : tarsus approximately three-quarters length of tibia : ungual 

 digitules moderately dilated. Margin (fig. 1, e) with a series of longish finely pointed 

 hairs, set at a distance from each other rather less than their own length. Stigmatic 

 spines sharply pointed, shorter than the marginal hairs, placed almost directly on the 

 margin. Derm closely set with large irregidarly oval cells (fig. 1, b), with a tendency 

 towards a polygonal outhne where they are more crowded : each cell containing a 

 large translucent subcentral spot. The cells are more sharply defined on the marginal 

 zone : on the median area their outline becomes obscure, but the translucent nuclear 

 spots remain conspicuous. 



Length, 3-4 mm. ; breadth, 2-50-3-25 mm. 



Nigeria : Kabba Province, on kola-nut pods, ii.l914 (D. Cator). 



The same pods were thickly infested by Stictococcus sjostedti, Ckll. 



