590 



INSECTA. 



Bethyllus, Latr. (Omalus, Jur.), has the antennae elbowed, 13-jointed, in both sexes, the head flattened, and the 

 prothorax elongated and subtriangular. 



Another portion has the antennae 13- to 15-jointed, and inserted near the middle of the face. 



Proctotrupes, Latr. (Codrus, Jur.), have them 13-jointed and straight in both sexes. [Numerous British spe- 

 cies, monographed by Haliday.] 



Helorus, has the antennae distinctly elbowed, and 15-jointed ; the first joint of the abdomen forms a sudden 

 long peduncle. [//. anomalipes, a singular British insect.] 



Beiyta and ductus, Jur., have the antennae 14- or 15-jointed, filiform in the males, and thicker at the tip in the 

 females. 



The other Oxyuri have neither cells nor brachial or basal nerves. Some of these have the antennae inserted in 

 the forehead. These are 



Diapria, Latr. (Psilus, Jur.), which has no cell in the wings. The males have 14-, and the females 15-jointed 

 antennae. 



Others have the antennae inserted near the mouth. 



Ceraphron, Jur., has a radial cell, the maxillary palpi prominent, the antennae filiform and 11-jointed, and the 

 abdomen ovate-conic. 



Sparasion, Latr., is similar to Ceraphron in the radial cell and maxillary palpi, but with the antennae 12-jointed 

 in both sexes. 



The two following subgenera differ from Sparasion in having the palpi very short, and not exserted or pendent. 



Teleas, Latr. having 12-jointed antennae. 



Scclio, Latr., with 10-jointed antennae. 



In the terminal subgenus Platygaster, Latr., the radial cell is wanting, the antennae in both sexes are 10-jointed, 

 the first and third being very elongated ; the palpi are very short, and the abdomen spatulate. I refer to this sub- 

 genus the Psiliis Boscii, Jurine, a very curious insect, in which the basal segment of the abdomen supports a 

 strong horn, which extends over the back of the head and thorax, and which, according to Leclerc de Laval, is a 

 tube for the ovipositor. [This opinion is certainly incorrect. The insect is remarkable for its habits, and has been 

 described by the Canon Schmidberger, under the name of the Paradoxical Pear-fly. See Kollar, Obnox. Ins., 

 translated by Miss Loudon.] The species is very minute, and black. 



[See the monographs of Tlatygaster, and several of the preceding genera, published by Mr. Walker in the Ento- 

 mological Magazine, in which work, as well as in Esenbeck's work on these families, various additional genera 

 are described.] 



The sixth tribe, Chrysides, Latr., like the three preceding tribes, have the hind wings not veined, 

 but the ovipositor is formed by the terminal segments of the abdomen, like the sliding tubes of a tele- 

 scope, and terminated by a small sting. The abdomen, which in the female appears to be formed of 

 only three or four segments, is vaulted or flattened beneath, and capable of being folded against the 

 breast, when the insect assumes the appearance of a ball. This tribe is composed of the genus 



Chrysis, Linn., — 



Which in the richness of their colours vie with the Humming-birds ; hence they have been termed 

 Golden-tailed Flies. They may be observed walking, but in a constant agitation and with great agility, 

 upon walls and palings exposed to the beat of the sun. They are also found upon flowers. The body 

 is elongated, and covered with a solid skin; the antenna? filiform, elbowed, and vibratile; the maxillary 

 palpi long and 5-jointed, the labial 3-jointed ; the abdomen in the majority is semi-oval, truncated at 

 the base, so as to appear sessile ; the terminal segment has often a deep row of impressed dots, and 

 the apex is denticulated. They deposit their eggs in the nests of Solitary Mason-bees, or other 

 Ilymenoptera, their larvae destroying those of these insects. 



Parnopes, differs from the rest in having the maxillae and lower lip very long, forming a proboscis. P. camea, 

 a continental species, places its eggs in the nest of Bembex rout rata. 



The others have not an elongated proboscis. 



In some the thorax is not narrowed in front, the antennae semi-ovate, and only with three segments, as in 



Chrysis proper, which may be thus divided :— 



Those with the four palpi equal, and the labium deeply notched, form the genus Stilbum, Spin., to which we may 

 unite Euckr<etis, Latr.,— [and Pyria, St. Fargeau]. Those with the maxillary palpi much longer than the labial, 

 with the labium notched, and the abdomen rounded at the tip, form the genus Hedychrum. Those with the palpi 

 as in Hedychrum, but with the labium rounded and entire, form the genera Elampus and Chrysis, the first of 

 which has the mandibles with two teeth within, and the abdomen entire at the tip, and the second has the man- 

 dibles with one tooth within, and the extremity of the abdomen is spined, and has a row of deep spots. To 

 this last group belongs C. ignita, Linn., the commonest species in Europe, of a blue colour, with the abdomen 

 fiery-red. 



Cleptes, Latr., has the mandibles short and toothed, and the thorax narrowed in front : the male has the 

 abdomen 5-, and the female 4-jointed. 



