Octobor, igo2] 



PSYCHE. 



401 



THE ASSOCIATION OF COCCIDAE. 



BY GEO. R. KING, LAWRENCE, MASS. 



The present paper is intended to give 

 a list of such Co<i-idac as are known to the 

 writer from published or unpublished 

 records to have been found associated 

 together on the same food plant, or in 

 ants' nests, etc. Incomplete as it must 

 be, it will show to some extent the diffi- 

 culty which accompanies the identifica- 

 tion of species of the same genus so 

 found, these being often closely allied. 



Furthermore it will be seen how diffi- 

 cult it is to treat the infested plants with 

 insecticides, for as a matter of fact in 

 some instances, the treatment for one 

 would not do for the other, therefore 

 various means have to be adopted. 



It has been asked in the writers hear- 

 ing many times "are varieties produced 

 by the association of two or more species 

 living together on the same food plant." 

 Such questions are usually asked by 

 individuals who having read somewhat 

 superficially the writings of popular 

 authors upon evolution and general 

 biology assume a more perfect knowl- 

 edge than the entomologist who has 

 made such investigations the study of 

 his life. 



So far as I know no varieties have 

 been found in the Coccidac, which could 

 be said to have been the result of two or 

 more species living together. 



There are however means whereby 

 this could be proved, provided one had 

 the time to devote to it, and the results 



would no doubt be of much value to 

 science. 



1 well remember many years ago while 

 in conversation with Dr. Hagen then at 

 Harvard, what he said to me when I 

 asked him if in his opinion there were 

 any new species of recent origin. His 

 reply was "you will not live long enough 

 to find one." We, of course, are con- 

 stantly finding and describing new spe- 

 cies and varieties ; but these we believe 

 have been in existence for a long time 

 but only of recent discovery and are 

 more frequently found in localities wliich 

 have been little worked up. It would 

 indeed be of much interest if some one 

 would try to find whether or not a male 

 coccid would mate with a female not of 

 its own kin. 



The following citations for the most 

 part are records made by I'rof. Cock- 

 erell although several are from various 

 authors including myself. .Some appear 

 here for the first time. 



Lccaniuin pseudhcsperidinii Ckll. and 

 Diaspis boisdiivalii Sign. Associated 

 together on Cciifkya in a greenhouse at 

 Ottawa Canada. The later species D. 

 boisdnTalii has hitherto been placed in 

 the genus Aiilacispis. Prof. Cockerell 

 writes me that Mr. Newstead siiows that 

 it should be placed in the Diaspis. 



Lecanu7ii hcspcndiim L. Pulvinniici 

 floccifcra West (P. brassiac) and Hcmi- 

 c/iioihispis aspidistiae Sign. Cited as 



