CHAPTER II 



PREPARATION 



The characters used for the separation of the various sub- 

 families, genera, and species of Coccidae are confined almost 

 entirely to the females. The reason for this is that the males are 

 rarely encountered unless special efforts are made to locate them 

 or to breed them. They are consequently not so well known and 

 have not been subjected to such extensive studies as the females 

 which, if found at all, usually occur in considerable numbers. It 

 is not strange, therefore, that the classification has been based on 

 the structures and excretions of the female. All individuals, 

 either from their size or from the presence of the excretions which 

 cover them, need to be treated with chemicals before their finer 

 structures can be examined. 



The body in the great majority of the species is small. In 

 many it is microscopic in size. Whether the body is large or small, 

 it has been greatly modified, specialized by reduction, so that there 

 is an astonishing simplification of the external form. In certain 

 adult females the body is hardly more than a simple cuticular bag. 

 The external appendages and the structures associated with them 

 have been modified, greatly reduced in size, or are wanting. The 

 great number of species and the dearth of usable characters, because 

 of the simplification of their external form and structure, makes 

 it necessary to employ every available structure. The females 

 have their bodies covered with wax. The amount of wax varies 

 with the species, the volume excreted by some is much greater 

 than the volume of their bodies. The wax must be removed and 

 the body and its appendages clarified so that the form and struc- 

 ture of the various parts can be determined. 



The difficulty is apparently further increased by the fact that 

 in most cases the specimens usually available for study are the 

 dried wrinkled bodies of females that have laid their eggs and 

 that have been stored in museums from a few to many years. The 

 bodies of such individuals must be removed so that all parts can 

 be examined. It is desirable that the body be returned as nearly 

 as possible to its original form, to that of the living individual. 



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