PROCEEDINGS 



OF THE 



CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



Fourth Series 



Vol. VI, No. 6, pp. 129-213. May 12, 1916 



VI 

 A CATALOGUE AND HOST LIST OF THE ANOPLURA 



BY 



G. F. Ferris 

 Of Stanford University 



INTRODUCTION 



The Anoplura (sucking lice) have long been much neg- 

 lected and much misunderstood, for as late as 1904 no critical, 

 comparative study of the group had ever been made ; and this 

 in spite of the fact that the group had had a place in two monu- 

 mental works upon parasitic insects, Insecta Epizoa of Giebel 

 and Les 'Pediculines of Piaget. With the exception of a few 

 forms of such peculiar nature that they were almost of neces- 

 sity given generic rank, the species were for the most part 

 lumped under the genus Hcematopinus and all were regarded 

 as forming a single family, the Pediculidse. In 1904, Ender- 

 lein, in a series of "Lausestudien" published in the Zoolog- 

 ischer Anzeiger, broke up the all-inclusive genus Hcematopinus 

 into several genera and elevated this group, as well as certain 

 other groups, to family rank. 



There has been some objection to this procedure, but on 

 the whole it has been amply justified by time. The old classi- 

 fication was based upon lack of knowledge and served only 

 successfully to conceal a wealth of remarkably interesting bio- 

 May 12, 1916 



