INSECTS. 
115 
color, with black spots, while the injurious insect is much larger 
measuring nearly half an inch in length, and being of a light-yellow 
color, spotted with black. 
THE LACE-WING FLY. 
4 
(Hemerobius ?) 
The larva of the lace-wing fly (PI. X. fig. 7) is furnished with 
two long and sharp jaws, by means of which it seizes the cotton-louse 
and in a few minutes sucks out the juices, leaving merely the white’ 
dried skins, to show where it once commits its ravages The e^gs 
are very singularly placed at the end of a thread-like filament, fast- 
ened to the under side of the leaf, and are generally deposited near a 
colony o t lice, in clusters of a dozen or more together, causing them 
to appear to the casual observer like a bunch of fungi. The ego-s 
being batched in the midst of the cotton-lice, the young larvm com- 
mence their work of extermination, seizing the younger lice in their 
jaws, and holding them in the air, and in despite of their struggles 
suclung out the juices, and finally throwing away the empty skins' 
I he larvae of this insect are not quite a fifth of an inch in length 
and are furnished with a sort of apparatus at the extremity of their 
tails by means of which they are capable of adhering to a leaf, even 
when all their feet are detached, thus being guarded against accidental 
falls during high winds, that might otherwise destroy them. When 
ready to change a thread is spun from the tail, and, often forming a 
rough sort of cob-web, the insect spins a semi-transparent, ovoid co- 
coon, from which it emerges as a beautiful, bright-green fly, with two 
lilliant eyes, which sparkle like gold, and four transparent wings 
0 a greenish cast, delicately veined, and netted with nerves resem- 
j 1 e beautiful lace-work; and hence the common name 
1 lis splendid insect, however, emits a most nauseous and fetid odor 
when held in the hand. 
INSECTS INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL TO THE ORANGE-TREE. 
THE ORANGE-SCALE. 
(Coccus?) 
The insect which has been so destructive to the once flourishing 
orange-groves of Florida presents the appearance of a minute, na£ 
row, elongated scale, (PI. X. fig. 8,) with a narrow, semi-transparent, 
whitish margin. That of the female resembles one of the valves of 
a long muscle-shell, in shape, and adheres closely to the leaf or branch 
on which it is fixed, and is apparently formed by successive semi-cir- 
cular layers added from time to time. When fully grown, it mea- 
sures about the tenth of an inch in length, by about the fortieth par* 
of an inch in breadth, at the broadest part. 
