Although a framework classification exists, the family Naucoridae (Hemiptera) has never been analyzed from a strict phylogenetic perspective in part because of the difficulty in assessing morphological attributes among constituent taxa. As a preliminary study to a cladistic analysis that will involve morphological as well as molecular data, specimens that were preserved in different ways were analyzed to determine which methods of preservation lend themselves to the acquisition of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. For this, we examined specimens of Pelocoris femoratus (Palisot de Beauvois) from central Missouri that were either freshly collected, recently preserved in 100% ethanol, or of three age classes (1-3, 5-10, 20+ yrs old) of specimens that were pinned or preserved in 70-80% ethanol. We identified two genes, one mitochondrial and one nuclear, that were useful in a higher phylogeny within the Nepomorpha, to assess recovery from our specimens. Thus, from specimens of differing preservation techniques, DNA was extracted, amplified using PCR, and recovery of the appropriate length sequences of the two selected genes was assessed. Preservation techniques and specimen age from which the targeted genes were recoverable are presented herein and will be focused on to provide molecular data in future phylogenetic analyses.