156 The Scottish Naturalist. 



of the brood do not develope till autumn, when they upheave 

 galls closely allied to, but quite distinct from, the June form, 

 and out of thousands of the autumnal flies bred not one was a 

 ^ . The American entomologist enumerates 9 points of 

 distinction between aciculata (this being the name of the 

 autumnal form) and spojigifica, more than enough indeed for them 

 to be placed in separate genera, according to the way the 

 European species are distributed. The evidence in favour of 

 their connection seems to be by no means clear, and it would 

 be well if the subject were reinvestigated. I have examined a 

 specimen of aciculata, and it undoubtedly belongs to the Cynips- 

 group, but cannot well be placed in Cyfiips S. Str. Dryophaiita 

 or Aphilothrix. 



Arguing from Walsh's observations, Mr. F. Smith has urged 

 that if the galls of our agamic species be collected early in the 

 season the males may in this way be discovered. This has 

 been done, but so far without success. It seems to me that 

 there is no evidence what ever to show that these species are 

 double brooded. Possibly however some of the bisexual vernal 

 species may have more than one brood. Mr. E. A. Fitch 

 mentions (Ent. No. 159, p. 195) that with A?idriciis curvator 3. 

 small second brood is met with. Mr. J. E. Fletcher of Worces- 

 ter likewise tells me that this year two broods of Spath. tricolor 

 appeared ; one on the nth June, the other on July 23rd. 



With the bisexual Cynipidae the males are in some species 

 nearly as common as the other sex, in others, as in Rhodites, they 

 are very rare. A curious phenomenon may occasionally be 

 observed with one or two of the polythalamous gall-makers ; it 

 is that from one gall only females will be produced ; from 

 another only males, but oftener both sexes will be found in the 

 same gall. In Synergns the males are tolerably common, and 

 often differ much from the females. In another inquiline 

 genus — Ccroptres — Mayr bred 600 of C. arator, and not one J , 

 and of C. cerri 98 females and only 4 males. 



Males are as common as the females with some species ot 

 parasitic Cynipidae, while with others they have not yet been 

 found. Even with those species having both sexes the males 

 are in comparison to the females rare. Thus of Sarothrus 

 canalir,u/atus, I have in my collection 23 specimens, of which 

 only 6 are males ; of Eucocla trichopsila 1 1 females and 2 

 males; of 7 s\)tc\Qsoi Klcdito7na, numbering in all 35 individuals, 

 there arc only 3 males ; of Figites 23 specimens, and not one 



