Indian Museum Notes. [Vol. V« 



P. floccifera occurs rather commonly in English greenhouses on 

 Camellia and various shrubs, also on orchids. 



The actual insect is quite small and inconspicuous, represented 

 by a shrivelled olive-green or brownish scale at the anterior extremity 

 of the white cottony ovisac (fig. 7). The ovisac is longitudinally 

 fluted. 



13. Ceroplastes ceriferus, Anderson, occurs not infrequently upon 

 tea in India and Ceylon. Dr. Watt's collection contains examples 

 from Assam. 



14. Ceroplastes floridensis, Comstock, is also found on tea and 

 many other shrubs in India and Ceylon. Neither this nor the preceding 

 species occurs in sufficient numbers to do much harm. Dr. Watt 

 records it from Assam and Darjeeling. 



15. Ceroplastes myricae i Linn. (Plate 2, figs. 8-15). — A third 

 species found by Dr. Watt in Upper Assam and North Lakhimpur 

 would seem to be of more importance as a tea pest. The smaller 

 branches and twigs were thickly encrusted with the waxy masses, 

 and the whole plant was covered with the resulting sooty fungus. 

 The same species occurred plentifully upon plants of Cycas revoluta 

 in Calcutta (fig. 8). Dr. Watt remarks that in each instance the 

 Ceroplastes was associated with some other Coccid. The examples 

 from Assam were in company with Lecanium coffeae. In another 

 instance Fiorinia these was the companion. And upon the Cycas 

 plant Aspidiotus orientalis occupied most of the space not taken 

 up by the Ceroplastes. This association of species has nothing of 

 the nature of symbiosis. It is an accidental circumstance due pro- 

 bably to the fact that a weakly or unhealthy plant is more readily- 

 seized upon by insect parasites of all kinds. 



Fresh examples of the insect are very ornamental objects, of a 

 delicate pink colour, resembling miniature sea-anemones. 



It was somewhat doubtfully that I identified this insect as 

 Ceroplastes myricde, the existent descriptions of that species being 

 rather vague. Signoret refers to it in the following terms, quoting 

 from an earlier author :— 



"The female is about the size of a small pea ; the body of a pale 

 red colour and in the form of d half oval ; the apex elevated and pierced 

 by a small point ; the circumference cartilaginous, thick, whitish, 

 marked on the sides with seven small raised bands." 



The specimens under examination answer to this description as 

 far as it goes. 



