246 JOUEXAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
The female may be briefly described as short ovate, covered with a 
white mealy substance, and having at the margin a fringe of short white 
appendages which lengthen towards the posterior extremity. They are. 
active until egg-laying takes place, when they secrete a quantity of loose 
cottony material to protect their eggs, and then die. 
The male is very much smaller than the female, is of a dull reddish - 
brown colour, and is furnished with two long white filaments at the 
end of its body. The wings are of a beautiful dark iridescent blue, and 
when at rest overlap, and completely hide the abdomen. They are much 
more common than is generally supposed, but they are so unlike their 
partners there is no wonder they are frequently overlooked. If undis- 
turbed they will remain in one position for a long time, which is rather 
Fig. 108.— Common Mealy Bug 
{Dactylopius citri) on Aspararjus plinnosus (nat. size). 
remarkable, as all male coccids with which I am acquainted appear 
always on the move when the day is well advanced and the sun hot. 
The pupa undergoes its transformation within a small elongate white 
SIC, which can easily be detected among the hordes of females. 
Like other insects, they increase more rapidly in summer, when there 
is a succession of broods. In winter they are much less productive, but 
there is no season of the year when they are absolutely dormant. Again, 
they are much more productive in the stove or Cucumber house than in 
the conservatory, which points to a sub-tropical origin. But they are 
exceedingly hardy, and can even withstand exposure to severe frosts. In 
fact I have twice met with the species outdoors on an Ivy-clad wall of a 
Pine stove, where, I have no doubt, they were well sheltered. 
I have often heard it said that the fumes of " XL All " will destroy 
" mealy bug," but I have found it of little avail against these pests. Soap 
or alkali solutions are the best remedies. And, when the nature of the 
