107 
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on sod. It is doubtless normally a grass insect. It was first 
reported by me in 1885 as a sorghum insect, and described un¬ 
der the name of Coccus sorghiellus in my Fourteenth Report as 
State Entomologist of Illinois (p. 71). It has since been found 
by us on corn (roots, leaf sheath, and leaf), on sorghum (August 
4), and on the roots of June grass, timothy, and probably 
other meadow and pasture grasses, clover, and cocklebur ( Xan - 
thium stirnnarium) . It is commonly att^ided by ants, especialty 
the species most frequently acting as host to the corn root aphis, 
Lasius niger and its variety alienus. It sometimes passes the 
winter in their nests, where we have seen ants feeding on the 
waxy surface-covering of th© mealy bugs. 
Its methods of multiplication are similar to those of the plant 
lice, viviparous females producing young in spring, and a sexual 
oviparous generation appearing in fall. We have found adults 
in the earth on the roots of grass (timothy) March 24, and 
have collected them from earth, among the roots of clover, May 
14. May 15 we have taken them from the roots of young corn 
with the small brown ant Lasius niger alienus in attendance, 
and May 17 have seen adults and half-grown young together 
in the same situation. The young thus seem to make their first 
appearance for the year in the early part of May. May 18 and 
19 many specimens were obtained on corn roots at Champaign, 
and at Polo in northern Illinois, those at the former place rap¬ 
idly producing young by viviparous generation. These were 
at this time scattering over the corn plant, and were most 
abundant in the youngest folded leaves. This mealy bug has 
also been collected by us May 20 at Mendota, and May 21, 24, 
28, 30, and 31 at Champaign, adults and young occurring on 
both corn and grass (pasture sod), usually with the above- 
mentioned ant in charge. June 5 it was found on June grass, 
behind the ensheathing part of the leaf, and the 6th and 16th 
on corn roots again, and the 13th on the roots of young cockle- 
bur in a corn field—here, also, in charge of Lasius alienus. Our 
remaining collections—one in July, three in August, and two in 
October—all contained adults, those for October either eggs or 
young also. October 20 a single reddish brown female, with 
legs of a similar color, was found on the outer surface of a corn- 
leaf sheath about four inches from the ground, surrounded by 
a little speck of flocculent material containing many eggs. Oc¬ 
tober 25 adults and young—whether oviparous or viviparous 
does not appear from our notes—were taken together in old 
pasture ground near Champaign, attended by the two common 
species of ants mentioned above. No males of this species have 
yet been recognized. 
DESCRIPTION. 
The body is oval, distinctly segmented, .07 of an inch long by 
.027 inch wide, and .024 inch deep. The surface is covered by 
a bluish bloom, and a waxy mass imbedding the bases of a 
