ART. 7 REVISION OP COCCOPHAGUS COMPERE 6 



where it was first discovered. The following cases are cited as ex- 

 amples: G. ochraceous Howard was first reared in 1887 from Le- 

 canium species infesting a native Californian plant at Alameda. 

 In recent years the same species was discovered to be a common para- 

 site of Saissetia olea (Bernard) at Cape Town, South Africa, but its 

 true identity was not known at the time and it was purposely intro- 

 duced into Southern California from Africa. Coccophagus scutel- 

 lans (Dalman), first described from Europe in 1825, is of world- 

 wide distribution. It was again described as a new species from 

 Euroi^e in 1852, from California in 1894, and from Australia in 1917. 



PRESERVATION OF SPECIMENS 



If specimens of C occopliagus are not immediately mounted, they 

 are preserved best if the specimens are placed in small vials and 

 packed or held firm by loose absorbent cotton so as to prevent move- 

 ment and avoid breakage. Some workers prefer the specimens pre- 

 served in alcohol but this causes the colors to fade. If only one 

 specimen is obtained, it is of most value if mounted on a tag. The 

 antennae and wings of tag-mounted specimens can be removed from 

 the body at any time and mounted in balsam, or the entire insect 

 can be removed from the tag, treated and mounted on a slide if 

 desired. It is unsatisfactory to make a tag mount of a specimen 

 that has been once preserved in balsam. Certain characters, espe- 

 cially coloration, are studied to best advantage in tag mounted speci- 

 mens and other characters are seen to best advantage in slide mounts, 

 so if sufficient material is obtained, a few of the specimens can be 

 advantageously mounted in balsam on slides. Unfortunately, most, 

 if not all, the species of C occopliagus shrink soon after death. This 

 shrinkage, which causes the head and abdomen to partially collapse 

 or fold, prevents the use of certain characters that would prove of 

 good taxonomic value if it were not for this distortion. Dry and 

 shriveled specimens can be distended by several methods before 

 mounting them in balsam. If, before mounting in balsam, speci- 

 mens are boiled in an 8 per cent solution of caustic potash, then 

 passed through a bath of acetic acid and afterwards soaked in oil 

 of cloves, they are distended, and the soft internal parts destroyed. 

 Specimens treated in this manner, and then mounted in balsam, 

 clearly show details of structure not readily seen in untreated speci- 

 mens. The coloration of boiled specimens is partly destroyed and 

 they are distorted by distention of the intersegmental tissue, but the 

 chitinous parts are not affected. Shriveled antennae can be removed 

 from tag mounted specimens and made suitable for study by treat- 

 ing them as described before, mounting them in balsam. Wings 

 are best preserved by mounting them in balsam without any pre- 

 liminary treatment other than cleaning them if necessary. Because 



