STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
853 
APHIS. PARENTHESIS COCCINELLA VARIETIES, 
sometimes square but oftener more wide than long and narrowing forward, and frequently 
having a notch in the middle of its fore aide. The scutel is triangular and black. The wing 
covers are red in the live insect, rarely yellow or red with the disk yellow; but in the dead 
insect they fade to a lurid yellow color. Their front edge is often white or whitish. They 
are ornamented with four black spots on each, namely, a common one on the forward end of 
the suture, an anterior, a middle and a posterior one, the two last being very often united at 
their outer ends. The common spot is oblong and extends upon the suture a fourth of its 
length. It is narrowest at its anterior end and gradually widens backward to its middle or 
beyond, where it becomes abruptly broader, this hind part being often in the form of a large 
round or diamond-shaped spot. The anterior spot is in the form of a large round dot placed 
upon the shoulder and nearer to the front than to the lateral edge. The middle spot is broad 
oval and equally as thick as the anterior one. It is placed obliquely, with its outer end more 
forward and occupying the oentre of the wing cover, being thus much more distant from the 
outer margin than the inner end is from the suture. The posterior one is more oblique and 
longer, but of the same thickness with the middle one, and is placed halfway between it and 
the hind margin. It is slightly curved, whereby its outer side is nearly parallel with the 
margin, receding from it very slightly towards its hind end and frequently having a notch or 
a concavity in this outer side forward of the middle, its inner end being nearer to the suture 
than is the inner end of the middle spot. Its outer end is very frequently prolonged inward 
upon its inner side, thus uniting this spot more or less perfectly with the hind sido of the 
outer end of the middle spot, the two spots when thus united forming a letter C, and these 
united spots facing each other on the two wing covers, come to have some resemblance to a 
parenthesis mark, ( ), which suggested to the older Mr. Melsheiiner the namo for this insect, 
which Mr. Say afterwards adopted when he came to describe it. These spots are frequently 
edged with yellowish white in the living insect, thus rendering them more distinct and con¬ 
spicuous on the red ground. The wings are colorless and hyaline, but without a glassy trans¬ 
parency, and they have a smoky spot on their outer margin and smoky streaks on the veins. 
Tho back underneath the wings is black, with a bright red stripe upon each side. The under 
side is black, with a white spot on each of the corners of the hind breast and a row of small 
white spots along the outer edge of the abdomen. Tho shanks and feet of the fore legs and 
sometimes of the middle one also are testaceous or livid yellow. 
In this species we meet with numerous vaiiieties, of which the 
• following merit to be noticed: 
Variety a, trident ifrons. The three white spots on the front confluent, forming a mark re¬ 
sembling the head of a trident. Common. 
b , pcnnacrifrons. Tho white spots on the front reduced in size to a short streak on 
the edge of each eye and a slight line in the middle. Not rare. 
c, triangularis. The white spot on the base of the thorax triangular instead of 
square. 
d, lituricollis. The thorax white, including the whole of its basal edge, with blaok 
marks on the disk resombling a full faced letter H widened backwards, and 
having a largo black dot on each sido confluent with it by a neck only half as 
thick as tho dot. Of this I have seen two examples. 
e, albomaculata. A white triangular spot on each side of tho scutel, margining the 
common spot to its dilated part, its outer edge indefinite. 
/, linearis. The common spot on the wing covers linear and not dilated posteriorly. 
g, approximata. Tho anterior spot large, its foro side reaching tho anterior edge 
of the wing cover. 
h, disco-punctala. Tho middle spot thick and round instead of oblong. 
i, tridens , Kirby. The middle and bind spots not united with each other to form a 
parenthesis mark. This is probably to be regarded as tho normal state of the 
speoies, a very small majority of the examples as they occur in nature having 
these spots separated. 
k, conjiuenta. The middle and hind spots largo and broadly confluent, with only a 
lineur or narrow oval cleft dividing their inner ends little more than half their 
length. 
