MAR SO 1899 



Kansas University Quarterly. 



Vol. VIII. JANUARY, 1899. No. i. 



The Coccidct of Kansas. 



Contributions from the Entomolog'ical Laboratory. No. 04. 



HV S. J. HUNTER. 



With Plates [ to VII. 



The Homopteran family, Coccidae, in man}^ respects anomalous 

 and in others similar, is unique in the diversities of the sexes and the 

 modes of distribution. Sex and genus necessarily present differ- 

 ences. The variations existing within a single species, and grada- 

 tions between species, however, have proven of peculiar interest. 

 It is with these specific differences in view that the studies upon 

 this group have been prosecuted. It is believed that from a large 

 series of discriminations interesting deductions might be made. 



The manner of preparation and method of study of this group 

 have occupied some time. I will endeavor to give briefly an out- 

 line of my observations and experiments upon the technique of the 

 genera mentioned in this paper. The first work was done with the 

 usual bleaching reagent, a strong solution of potassium hydrate, 

 washed in water, transferred to fifty per cent alcohol, then to ninety- 

 five per cent alcohol and from here to a clearing mixture composed 

 of two parts by measure of carbolic acid crystals and three parts of 

 rectified oil of turpentine, taken from this to slide and mounted in 

 xylol-balsam. The difficulties found in this process were: dan- 

 gers of boiling too much or of not boiling enough, specimens had 

 to be removed while the liquid was warm else a deposit would col- 

 lect upon them and render them useless, material was generally 

 more or less macerated and frequently the plates were not retained 

 throughout the process. 



(1) KAN. DNIV. QU.\K., VOL. VIII, NO. I. .JAN.. 1899, SERIES A. 



