169 
white waxy secretion covering each one. Over the whole egg mass is a 
white floccnlose network of waxy threads which cover the eggs and 
quite effectually protect them from attack by other insects. The female 
commences secreting these threads some hours before egg laying begins, 
and continues secreting as long as the mass of eggs increases. A female 
before laying her eggs will be about 2.5 U),n wide and 4 rnm long, but when 
through there is nothing left of her but a little dry wrinkled piece of 
lifeless skin and a mass of eggs back of her that will measure two or 
three times as much as she did a short time before. The female feeds 
all the time she is depositing her eggs, and no doubt lays far fewer eggs 
when forced to do so with no food accessible. The eggs first laid will 
remain farthest from the female and beneath, she moving ahead as the 
mass grows. The mass also raises her until, toward the last her posi- 
tion is often nearer vertical than horizontal. 
Quite a number of females of various sizes were placed in ajar to see 
how long they would live with no food. There was moisture enough 
for their needs, and the temperature was a little above what it would 
be in a comfortable dwelling house. The smaller ones, which were not 
over a quarter grown, molted on the second day and on the third were 
mostly dead. Many of the larger ones molted the day the smaller 
ones died. Some of the smaller of them lived a few days longer and 
then died, but the most of the larger ones began very soon to deposit 
eggs. One of the largest of the number was carefully watched, and it 
was found that the eggs increased at the rate of about 36 every twenty- 
four hours. Egg laying lasted only four or five days, instead of ten 
days or two weeks as usual, when the female shriveled and died, leav- 
ing from 100 to 150 eggs in each mass. The most of these eggs were 
fertile and hatched in about a week after they were placed there. None 
of the females were full grown, and the experiment shows that the 
mealy bug will still strenuously endeavor to propagate its kind from 
immature specimens when food is wanting. Another lot of specimens 
were placed in a cold room under otherwise similar conditions and all 
sizes remained dormant for a long period with no apparent injury. 
It requires from one to two weeks for the eggs to hatch, according to 
the temperature. As a usual thing the young mealy bugs from the eggs 
first laid will hatch some days before the female has finished laying. 
They are very active and, like other young bugs, appear to be mostly 
antennae and feet. They do not venture out from under the flocculent 
covering for several days, and before they do they have assumed a par- 
tial mealy coat resembling considerably the parent. The attenna 1 are 
6-jointed in the female and 7 -jointed in the male larvae. 
On the 14th of April a single gravid female was placed in the labo- 
ratory on a Coleus plant. Since that time two generations have been 
reared from the one specimen. This would make about two months for 
each generation, but. where the temperature is like that maintained in 
a conservatory, this period is shortened two weeks. We may say then 
