3822 Entomological Society, 



" It costs at Ningpo, from twenty-two to thirty-five cents per pound. The annual 

 products of this humble creature in China, cannot be far from 400,000 flbs." 



Mr. Hanbury added, that it was harder than bees'-wax and that its fusing point 

 was about 184° Fahr. ; it had been imported into this country and employed for 

 making candles and other purposes, but it was too expensive to be generally useful. 



Mr. Westwood remarked that the insects were the wingless females of a species 

 of Coccus, which, with the exception of their short legs, were wholly permeated with 

 the secretion of wax. He proposes to call the species C. Sinensis. 



Mr. Westwood exhibited the following species of Coccidae, all more or less resem- 

 bling the insect under notice, in producing colouring or waxy matter. Coccus Ilicis, 

 from South of Europe, Margarodes Formicarum, the ground pearl of the West Indies, 

 Coccus manniparus, from Mount Sinai, and a species from Manilla. 



Mr. Hanbury also exhibited a Chinese print of the tree, the insects, and the 

 masses left on the plants from which the Cocci are propagated. 



Mr. Douglas read part of a communication made to the * Gardeners' Chronicle ' a 

 short time since, by Mr. Fortune, on the insect in question. 



" Sir George Staunton observed an insect of this description on the coast of Cochin 

 China, ' busily employed upon the small branches of a shrub then neither in fruit nor 

 flower, but its general habit bearing somewhat the appearance of a privet ; ' writers 

 generally call this plant Ligustrum lucidum ; yet M. S. Julien who has intimate know- 

 ledge of the written language of China, says, that the wax insects are stated to be 

 raised on three species of plants, namely, Ligustrum glabrum, Rhus succedanea, and 

 a species of Hibiscus, (Comptes Rendus, 1840). But I now possess evidence which 

 goes a long way to prove that another plant, different from any of the above, is the 

 true white-wax tree of Central China. Before leaving China I had the honour of 

 receiving from the French Consul at Shanghae, two small trees, which had been 

 brought down by one of the Catholic missionaries from the province of Sychuen. I 

 cannot see how any mistake could have been made, as the tree is no doubt as common 

 in that province, as the tallow-tree is at Che Kiang. I am happy to say that one of 

 these plants has reached this country in good condition, and is now at the Exotic 

 Nursery of Messrs. Knight and Perry at Chelsea. It appears very like an ash, but 

 apparently different from any known species. It is deciduous, and no doubt will 

 prove perfectly hardy in the gardens of this country.'' 



Mr. Baly exhibited some bees which had been preserved in spirit, and restored to 

 their pristine beauty by washing with soap and warm water, the pile being dried and 

 raised with blotting paper. 



Mr. Waterhouse said he had often treated insects of all orders, except Lepidoptera, 

 in this way, even when they were greasy, with the greatest success, and Mr. Edward 

 Sheppard also spoke in its favour. 



The following communication from Mr. Spence was read : — 



" Through the kindness of Dr. Quain, of Harley Street, Cavendish Square, I am 

 enabled to lay before the Society specimens of the African Dipterous insect, * TsHsSJ 

 communicated to him by William Oswell, Esq., who has travelled extensively in 

 Africa; and also the following very interesting memorandum respecting it, by the same 



