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including the whole family Coccidae, are microscopic subjects, 

 it means that carefully mounted specimens are necessary so 

 that all the minute details, so necessary for study, are brought 

 out distinctly. It means that clean work and lots of patience 

 are necessary to accomplish good results. 



During my study of these insects I have endeavored to 

 n-take my observations on the living insect as much as possible, 

 and, fortunately, of the various species found in these Islands, 

 I have been able to get plenty of material. As the insects of 

 this subfamily are not all stationary, I have found that col- 

 lecting til em in pill boxes is l)est. In the laboratory they are 

 transferred into glass vials for closer study. Many of the 

 Dactylopilnae secrete a mealy substance over their body which 

 is very often rubbed off or disturbed by ants. In the study 

 oi' my specimens I have endeavored to allow the various spe- 

 cies, by resting, to construct the secretion, filaments and other 

 appendages as much as possible. My method is as follows: 

 I use round-bottom glass tubes of about % inch diameter and 

 4 inches long, in which I place a tight-fitting piece of white 

 Cc'rdboard, allowing about ^/^ inch for cotton stopper. The 

 cyrdboard does not reach the end of the tube, so that the in- 

 sects placed in the vial have free access to both sides of the 

 card, and can attach themselves to one or the other side of it. 

 Adult females placed in th,ese tubes have reconstructed the 

 secretion in a few days. They have formed their eggsac; 

 have produced eggs, or given birth to living young, as the 

 case may be. Species well attended by ants with almost no 

 secretion when taken, have developed this to such an extent 

 that it gave the insect a very different appearance than when 

 first collected. How easy it would have been to describe the 

 insect as first found, and then perchance run across a lot un- 

 attended by ants and not recognize the species as the same. 



The color of the various species can be thoroughly studied 

 while in these vials. The variation in habit of producing the 

 offspring, by being either oviparous, ovoviviparous or vivipa- 

 rous, can also be recorded, and this has been successfully done 

 by the vial method. The structure of the eggsac, whether only 

 used as a bed or whether used as a complete cover for the 

 insect and eggs, is another matter worth recording. 



In addition to these interesting observations on the living 

 insects, it is very important to note their habitat on the plants. 



