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II. Description of some New or Little Known South African 

 Mutillidce, in the Collection of the South African Museum. 

 By L. PEBINGUEY, Assistant Director. 



THE number of described South African species, exclusive of two 

 which are in synonymy, and one the identity of which is dubious, 

 is 49. Twenty-three of these are represented in the Cabinet. I am 

 now giving the description of 87 more, which I have reason to 

 believe have not been described hitherto, with perhaps the exception 

 of 2, the description of which I have not been able to procure. 



So far as is now known the recorded South African species exceed 

 by 12 the Mutillidae of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. 



The two sexes of 9 species only out of 139 are ascertained ; it is, 

 however, probable that 20 males described singly by different 

 authors, myself included, \vill prove to be identical with females 

 already known. 



Bingham describes both sexes of 5 species only in his ' Fauna of 

 British India,' London, 1897, out of 120 species known to occur 

 there. This goes to prove that it is not only in South Africa that 

 little attention or observation has been paid to that family of 

 Hymenoptera. 



In South Africa the sexes of the following species are now known 

 with certainty : 



Mutilla thyonc, Per., bred from the cocoons of a Clythrid beetle 

 by Dr. H. Brauns. 



J/. sycorax, Sm., bred by myself from the mud-nests of Pclop&us 

 spirifex. 



M. capicola, Per., caught in copula by myself. 

 .If. galantkis, Per., caught in copula by myself. 

 M. capensis, Sauss., caught in copula by myself. 



M. purpurata, Sm., caught in copula by Dr. H. Brauns. 



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