NOTICES OF CERTAIN PHILIPPINE FULGOROIDEA, ONE BEING
OF ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE
By C. F. Baker
{From the College of Agriculture, University of the Philippines,
Los Banos, P. I.)
TWO PLATES AND 1 TEXT FIGURE
Melichar ^ describes a new f uigorid genus, Egropa, with one
species, inusta, which he refers to the Tettigometridse ("Tettigo-
metrini"). His figures give the body outhnes and a front and
lateral view of the face. His species, from the description,^
must have been a very beautiful object, but unfortunately he
possessed only a single specimen. Distant ^ inserts Egropa as
an unplaced genus following the Issidse. He quotes Melichar's
descriptions and copies his figures, remarking that he had never
seen the species. Considering the vast extent of the oriental
material studied by Distant, one might infer that this species
is a great rarity. However, it will doubtless be secured in
great numbers when its food-plant is discovered. In 1907
Bierman * described a second species of this interesting genus,
as living on Cassia fistula in Java. In the same year he figured
both nymphs and imagoes of this species with the name of
Egropa j'acobsoni.*
It may be commonly noticed in these Islands that many of the
large and much-prized fruits of the guanabana (Anona muricata)
are deformed, are not plump and full all around, but bent and
depressed on one side and commonly stunted in growth. Nymphs
and imagoes of a species of Gargara (Membracidse) were to be
found occasionally on this tree, and the Gargara was suspected
of being the cause of this common damage. Only now, after
being here three years, do I discover it to be due to a beautiful
species of Hilda {=Egropa) , which evanescently breeds in great
numbers on the surface of the very young fruits. It lays very
numerous eggs in patches on the surface of the fruit and on
surrounding leaves. This year it happens that large numbers
of these eggs are parasitized by a minute chalcid,^ so that it is
'Homopteren Fauna von Ceylon (1903), 82, Taf. Ill, fig. 13, a.
'Fauna Brit. Ind. Rhynch. (1906), 3, 268.
'Ent. Bericht. (1907), 2, 162.
'Notes Leyden Mus. (1907), 29, 158, Taf. Ill, fig. 6.
^ Being described under the name Pseudobrachysticha semiaurea Girault
gen. et. spec. nov.
132633 4 137
BioStor
