BULLETIN 39, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. [4] 



COLLECTING COCCID^. 



I. Localities. — It may be taken as a general rule that Coccidce are 

 not abundaut north or south of the fortieth parallels, although (as 1 

 learu from Mr. Bergroth) Orthezia cataphracta has been found even in 

 Greenland and Arctic Siberia. At all events, in the colder portions of 

 the temperate zones it will not pay anyone to search for Coccidfie alone, 

 although if he has them m mind when looking for other things he will 

 ibe sure, in the course of time, to run across many interesting forms. 

 In the tropics, however, and even in the warmer parts of the temperate 

 iregions, searches directed to Coccidpe alone will yield excellent harvests. 

 A tour around any tropical garden, especially if it be at or near sea 

 level, will be almost certain to furnish much interesting material. 

 Going southward on the American mainland, no species are known 

 from the whole western coast of Mexico south of Guaymas, except an 

 Aspidiotus from Mazatlan.* The little collecting that has been done in 

 TamjDico and Vera Cruz on the east coast does but give us a glimpse 

 of an undoubtedly rich coccid fauna, i^rom Yucatan we know nofch- 

 ing,t nor is anything known from Lower California. From Guatemala 

 to Panama we have just two records ! From the mainland of South 

 America we know practically nothing except /rom British Guiana, Sao 

 Paulo in Brazil, and the neighborhood of Santiago in Chile. Here and 

 there, elsewhere, a single species has been obtained, or possibly two or 

 three, but no serious collecting has been done, or if it has, we have no 

 published information regarding it. 



In the West Indies, Jamaica, Antigua, Trinidad, and lately Grenada 

 have furnished collections of coccids; the Jamaica list is the best, and 

 stands at about seventy; next comes Trinidad, with about forty. 

 That we know four species from Cuba, two from Haiti, and one from 

 Porto Eico merely shows that no one has seriously looked for Coccidje 

 in these islands. Martinique has just one record, Guadeloupe and St. 

 Lucia none. 



Passing westward to the Pacific Islands, collections have been 

 made in the Hawaiian Islands and a few species have come from Fiji. 

 But otherwise we know hardly anything. From Tahiti three, New 

 Caledonia one, Tonga one, Samoa one, the Marquesas one. From 

 the Galapagos, Low Islands, Cook Islands, New Hebrides Islands, etc., 

 none at all. 



New Zealand and the eastern parts of Australia have been i)retty 

 well searched, and very many interesting species described; but the 

 whole of the East Indian Archipelago is practically virgin ground. 

 China, Siam, the Malay Peninsula, Burmah — all are unexplored for 



* Since this was written, three or four more species have come to hand from the 

 west coast of Mexico. 



t Since the above was written, Professor Townsend has sent a new species of 

 Lecanium from Yucatan. 



