236 



ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



The family Eucharidce takes its name from the genus Eu- 

 charis^ Latreille, erected in 1805, for Cynips adsccndens Fabri- 

 cius, a species widely distributed over Europe, and described 

 under the latter name as early as 1787, or a little over a century 

 ago. 



In 1811 Spinola described his genus Stibula* to contain Ich 

 neumon cyniformis Rossi, evidently a misprint for cynipiformis, 

 a species found in South Europe. 



Latreille's definition of the genus was a broad one, and from 

 this time down to the year 1829 all other species of Eucharids 

 discovered in various parts of the world, showing any affinities, 

 were described and placed in it. In this year, however, Latreille 

 erected another genus, Thoracantha^ for a singular looking 

 species discovered in Brazil. 



In 1840 Blanchard described his genus Psilogastcr^ while six 



1 Latreille, Hist. Nat. Crus. et Ins., t. xiii, p. 210. 



2 Spinola, Ann. Mus., xvii, p. 150. 

 3 Cuvier's Regne Anim., ed. 2, v, p. 297. 

 4 Blanchard, Hist. Anim. Art., iii, p. 260. 



