THE WOMBAT. 93 



I purchisi Mashell. 



Known as the "Cottony Cushion Scale; " occurs plenti- 

 ful!}' at Bacchus Marsh on oranges, and Mr. D. A. Little, 

 C. E., tells me that his hedge of Podocarpus is covered with 

 them. 



Sub-family— Brachyscelinae. 



Genus - Brachyscelis, Schrader. 



B. munita, Fchrader. Plate II. ; Figs. 7-10. 



This peculiar gall often presents a very remarkable 

 appearance when clustered together in masses of forty or fifty 

 at the end of quite a thin branch. The small male galls are 

 generally fixed to the side of those formed by the female. 

 The keenest observers have failed to understand how an 

 insect such as this is capable of mysteriously forming large 

 woody galls without apparently any organs for the purpose. 

 Hab. — On Eucalyp'us tohusla (South Australia.) On E. 

 goniocalyx at Werribee Gorge, Victoria. 



Brachy>celw(?) Plate II. ; Fig. 19. 



1 am not quite satisfied whether this is B. munita or not. 

 Fig. ig on Plate II. gives a very adequate idea of it. I 

 forwarded two specimens to Mr. Maskell during last year, 

 and in his letter he says—" I cannot find any description to 

 suit this remarkable gall coccid." Since then I have sent a 

 drawing of it to Mr. W. W. Froggatt, Government Entomolo- 

 gist, New South Wales, who says — " there is, I think, no 

 doubt that the drawing you sent is that of B munita." So 

 far I have only seen six specimens, and am not sufficiently 

 acquainted with the general characters of the adult female 

 myself to do any more at present than leave the insect with 

 a note of interrogation. 



B. urnalis, Tepper. B. Schraderi, Olliff., M.S. Plate II. ; 

 Figs. 1-6. 



I am indebted to Mr. Froggatt for the identification of 

 this insect, who tells me that this is the first time it has been 

 recorded as Victorian 



Hab. — Mr. Tepper gives Eucalyptus un c in ata as the South 

 Australian host-plant. It probably infests many species of 

 Eucalyptus, as I have found it on E goniocalyx at Werribee 

 and E leucoxylon at Myrniong : indeed so thick were the galls 

 on one occasion that they seemed to take the place of leaves, 

 as not a single leaf could be seen, and I have no doubt that a 

 cwt. of the galls could have been collected from one tree. 



