ON THE HABITS AND STRUCTURE OF THE 
COCCID GENUS MARGARODES, 
T. D. A. COCKERELL. 
THERE has recently been made a new pathway across the 
campus of the New Mexico Agricultural College at Mesilla Park, 
and the earth on it is still soft andloose. Walking this morning 
(January 16) up this path, I saw, just opposite the door of the 
new Science Hall, a couple of small winged insects, hurrying | 
to and fro as if they had lost something, almost beneath my 
feet. Curious to know what was stirring at this time of year, 
I knelt down, and was surprised to find that they were male 
coccids. Presently, greatly to my astonishment, one of them 
began to dig into the earth, and in a moment completely buried 
itself, leaving only the tips of its long abdominal filaments 
visible. I dug it out and discovered the object of its search, 
which was a plump yellow female coccid. 
These coccids, $ and 9, prove to belong to the singular 
genus Margarodes, never before found in New Mexico. This 
genus was established by the Rev. L. Guilding, in 18209, for a 
species of the West Indies; others have lately been described 
by Giard from Chili and the Cape of Good Hope. One form, 
Margarodes formicarum Guilding, var. rileyi, Giard, has been 
found on some of the Florida Keys. An allied genus, Porphy- 
rophora, with several species, occurs in Europe; it was named 
by Brandt in 1835. 
These two genera (if they are to be separated) form the sub- 
family Porphyrophorinz or Margarodine, closely allied to the 
Monophlebinz, and especially to the Xylococcinz of Pergande. 
Both Margarodine and Xylococcinz are very well separated 
from Monophlebinz by the absence of legs and antennz in the 
intermediate stages of the female, and the total absence of 
mouth partsin the adult female. From one another they do 
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