18 



second to the eight segment; venter yellow, the abdominal segments marked with 

 dusky black; tubercles arranged as in the preceding stage, black, all of those on 

 the first, second, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth segments yellow, as are also 

 those on the third, with the exception of the posterior of the lowest two ; the low- 

 est tubercle on each side of the sixth segment is also yellow ; the subdorsal tuber- 

 cles near the posterior margin of the first segment are nearly as large as those on 

 the sides of this segment ; the anterior of the two lowest tubercles on the second 

 segment is slightly longer than either of the three arranged in the form of a triangle 

 above it; the anterior of the two lowest tubercles on the third segment is not half 

 as long as either of the two above it; except on the first segment, none of the bristles 

 are as long as the tubercles which bear them; head black, marked in the middle 

 with a yellow spot. Length, 8 mm . 



Duration of this stage, eleven days. 



Piqya. — Yellow, marked with a medio-dorsal row of oval black spots, one to each 

 segment, and on each side of these is a row of larger black spots, one to each seg- 

 ment, except the first, those on the second segment sometimes connected along the 

 front end of this segment with the median spot; wing-cases entirely, or at least 

 their upper edges, black; entire surface thinly covered with a yellowish white, 

 appressed, scaly pubescent; first and second segments bearing several short, erect 

 bristles; remaining segments each bearing a large cluster of bristles in the subdorsal 

 and also in the stigmatal region; length, 7 mra . 



Duration of this stage, eleven days. 



In pupating the old larval skin is rent along the back from the head 

 to the front end of the eighth segment. 



The time passed by this ladybird in its preparatory stages from the 

 depositing of the egg to the issuing of the adult insect is seen to be 

 about sixty-four days, divided as follows: Egg, eighteen days; larva, 

 thirty-five days (first stage, six days; second stage, seven days; third 

 stage, eleven days, and fourth stage, eleven days) ; pupa, eleven days. 

 These periods are for the months of August and September, the insects 

 having been bred in breeding cages kept in the window of my office, 

 where they received the benefit of the afternoon sun. It is probable 

 that in the open air they would have passed through their various 

 changes in a somewhat shorter period of time than that indicated above. 



On the 14th of May of the present year I placed in one of my breed- 

 ing cages, 10 of these ladybirds received that day from Sydney, Aus- 

 tralia, and kept them well supplied with specimens of Aspidiotus au- 

 rantii, Lecanium olece, and various kinds of Aphides, but more than six 

 weeks elapsed before any eggs were deposited. At certain intervals 

 after this I removed the larvae from this cage, and placed them on an 

 orange tree thickly infested with Aspidiotus aurantii and Lecanium olece; 

 on the 16th of August I thus removed about 100 of them, on the 5th 

 of September 13 more, and on the 28th of September I placed the 

 entire contents of this cage on the same orange tree. At this latter 

 date several of the beetles originally received from Australia were 

 still alive, which would indicate that they are comparatively long lived, 

 since I had them in my possession for a period of over four months, 

 and they may have been several weeks old at the time of their capture 

 in Australia. 



