211 



ing change to take place in the females of the same family, 

 due to the alteration of the germ-plasm of the parent.* 



Future Lines of Wokk. 



In spite of the great amount of collecting done by Messrs. 

 Perkins, Swezey, Giffard and, in a lesser degree, others, our 

 collections are still very imperfect. Many species are repre- 

 sented by females only, and others only by single specimens ; 

 the number of species yet to be found I think is quite large, 

 as so many are exceedingly local and collecting has only been 

 done in a very few localities in the Islands. A fuller repre- 

 sentation may change our ideas on minor points, but I do not 

 think it will alter the main conclusions as drawn from our 

 present collections. Breeding experiments to show the sta- 

 bility of certain characters would be of interest, especially if 

 cross-breeding can be accomplished. 



In all future specific work a study of the aedeagus will be 

 essential, so a few words as to the method I use for examin- 

 ing this structure may be of use. With fresh, or, if dried 

 then thoroughly relaxed, specimens, it is easy to dissect the 

 entire pygophor ofi' of the abdomen ; soaking or boiling in 

 caustic potash will thoroughly clear it of all fats and then, 

 with the aid of a pin, the base of the aedeagus can be pushed 

 forward from inside; this Avill cause the anal segment to move 

 upward, the styles to move downward and the aedeagus out- 

 ward, so that all the organs become fully exposed ; or the anal 

 segment, aedeagus and styles can be dissected as one piece 

 away from the pygophor. These should be mounted on the 

 same card-point as the specimen. The specimen is perfect for 

 all practical purposes and the genitalia fully exposed. 



A ''biological survey" of the Islands is advocated in cer- 

 tain quarters, mostly by those whose knowledge of what has 

 already been accomplished is very limited. The botanists, 

 ornithologists, conchologists and entomologists have surveyed 

 their respective fields very efficiently, and now the task is one 

 of detail and of close collecting. There is small hope for the 

 ornithologists adding very much to their knowledge, either of 



*Over thirty varieties of lateral lobes of Cetonia aurata are fig- 

 ured by Ciirti (Entom. Mittelungen II, 1913, No. 11, p. 340) from 

 various localities. It would be of interest to know if an equal amount 

 of variation existed in the internal sac. 



