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NOTES ON THE COCCIDAE OF BRITISH GUIANA.* 



By G. E. Bodkin, B.A., Dip. Agric. (Cantab.), F.Z.S., F.E.S., 



Government Economic Biologist, British Guiana. 



The object of this paper is to supplement an article which appeared early in 1914 

 in the Journal of the Board of Agriculture of British Guiana (Vol. iii, No. 3.) At 

 that time it was proposed to publish a further account of these insects as soon as 

 more species had been collected and identified, and fuller information gained. Also, 

 taking into consideration the great economic importance of the Coccidae, it has been 

 deemed advisable to disseminate as widely as possible all information which has 

 been acquired concerning them locally. In the previous article, some fifty- one 

 species were enumerated and notes recorded concerning their habits and economic 

 importance. In this paper information appertaining to sixty-eight species is given, 

 a number of which are new to science. Further knowledge with regard to the para- 

 sites and predaceous enemies has been gained, as well as their economic status. 



The following short account of previous work on the Coccidae of British Guiana 

 is of interest. Their study may be said to have commenced in 1888 when a number 

 of common species of Coccids were collected in the Botanic Gardens, Georgetown, 

 and forwarded to Mr. J. S. Mclntire, of Shepherds Bush, London. These species 

 were examined both by this gentleman and also Mr. J. W. Douglas, and the results 

 of their studies were published in the Entomologists Monthly Magazine, the Journal 

 of the Quekett Microscopical Club, and in two papers published in Timehri, the 

 Journal of the Royal Agricultural and Commercial Society of British Guiana, the 

 one written and illustrated by Mr. Mclntire and the other by Mr. R. Ward. 



Between the years 1888-1894 a series of articles dealing with Guiana Coccidae 

 appeared in the Entomologists Monthly Magazine, written by Mr. J. W. Douglas, 

 Mr. A. C. F. Morgan, Professor R. Newstead and Mr. E. E. Green. The material 

 on which these articles were based was collected in the botanic Gardens, Georgetown, 

 by Mr. G. S. Jenman, F.L.S. Thus some twenty-two species of scales were described 

 either for the first time or identified as previously described species. 



During more recent years, with the exception of a small but interesting collection 

 made by Mr. A. W. Bartlett, who was Government Botanist for some years, no 

 further work has been done on the Coccidae of this part of Tropical America. 



The collection of Coccidae in this laboratory was commenced by the writer in 1911 

 and may now be said to be very fairly representative. Collections have been made 

 in all the various cultivated parts of the Colony, and species have been obtained 

 from many of the wild and uninhabited portions. I have to thank the following 

 gentlemen who from time to time have forwarded interesting specimens, Mr. R. 

 Ward, Mr. L. D. Cleare Jnr., Mr. P. M. de Weever, Mr. A. A. Abraham, Mr. E. M. 

 Morgan, and Mr. H. W. Moore. The determinations have been made in most cases 

 through the agency of the Imperial Bureau of Entomology by Professor Robert 

 Newstead, F.R.S , the well-known authority on Coccidae. With the exception of 



* Published by psrmission of the Director of Science and Agriculture, British Guiana. 



