4-0 JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. 



Wellington, Sth October, 1890.— C. Hulke, F.O.S., President, in 

 the chair. 



New Member. — Mr. \V. Barton. 



Papers. — (1) "Farther Coccicl Notes, with descriptions of new 

 species from New Zealand, Australia, and Fiji," by Mr. W. M. Masked. 

 The author said that as this was a technical paper he would not read 

 it in full. He might explain that it was in continuation of similar 

 papers read last year and in former years on work he had been engaged 

 in for the last fourteen years. It described about twenty new species — 

 five from Australia, one from Fiji, and the rest from New Zealand. 

 Plates figuring these accompanied the paper. The paper also contained 

 remarks on formerly described species in this and other parts of the 

 world. He also exhibited about 150 different species of insects, inclu- 

 ding chose he had already described, together with others from various 

 localities. He regretted much that entomologists generally did not 

 think it worth their while to study this particular family, the coccidre. 

 He believed that he himself was the only person in New Zealand who 

 had published anything about it. Outside New Zealand there were not 

 more than eight or ten who gave attention to scale insects. This was a 

 bad thing, and he felt it much, as he had here no one to discuss the 

 subject with, or to correct him if he fell into any errors. Two 

 gentlemen at Reefton collected for and assisted him greatly, but they 

 did not write on the subject and relied entirely on him for determi- 

 nations — there was no one to keep him straight, so to say. But 

 chiefly he regretted that entomologists would not depart from the 

 general groove of butterflies, moths, and beetles. We knew pretty 

 ■well all that can be known of these ; at least their study had been so 

 close that the varieties seemed now-a-days only trivial. In the coccida? 

 there was infinite variety and work of the greatest interest — a 

 variety of life-history, habits, and customs that seemed greater than 

 that afforded by any other branch of entomology. He gave instances 

 of peculiarities in these insects — wonderful vitality in some cases, and 

 about the boring habits of one particular insect after it had thrown oft' 

 legs, mouth, <fcc. — all tending to prove that these little despised 

 creatures were more interesting for study than all the butterflies. 



Mr. Hudson said that he wished to say a few words on the 

 subject of general entomology. While fully appreciating the great 

 value and interest attaching to the study of the coccidae he felt 

 confident that any other family of insects closely investigated would 

 yield equally interesting results. After showing the limited extent of 

 the eoccicke, compared with the remainder of the great class insecta, he 

 pointed out the vast variety existing in the habits of various other 

 families and orders, commencing with the lepidoptera. He said that 

 some fed on the leaves of plants, some on roots, some burrowed in the 

 stems of trees, making a trap-door to protect themselves from enemies. 

 Others again constructed cases which they dragged about with them, 

 while others, among the minute species, tunnelled between the layers 

 of leaves, lived in the kernels of fruits, nuts, seeds, &c, &c. Their 

 mode of passing the winter was equally varied. Some hibernated, 

 laying their eggs on the sprouting plants in the spring, others spent 

 the same period in the ground or in cocoons as pupae, others hibernated 

 as larva 3 , while others again passed the inclement months in the egg 



