

44 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS [Jan., '12 



opinion have a spindel shaped abdomen and for which he proposes to 

 use Foerster's term Mesochoroidae. 



Of the Ashmeaclian groups Mr. Szepligeti treats the Plectiscini, 

 (omitting the available genera Hambergiclla Roman, Mischoxurides 

 Ashmead, Clepticus Haliday, Symphylus Foerster, Acroblapticus Schmie- 

 deknecht, Campoihrcptus Foerster, Zarhynchus Ashmead, Rhynchothy- 

 reus Ashmead, and Grypocentrus Ruthe) ; the Mesochorini, (omitting 

 Thy mar is Foerster, which he probably holds with others as belonging 

 to the Tryphoninae and Edrisa Cameron) ; the Campoplegini excepting 

 the genera with compressed abdomen, (omitting Phobocampa Thomson, 

 Paurolexis Cameron, Enytus Cameron, Neobosmina Cameron, and 

 Dusona Cameron) ; the Banchini, which he would place in the Pimplinae 

 near Lissonotini, (omitting Agathilla Westwood and Nawaia Ash- 

 mead) ; the Paniscini, which he says belongs to the Tryphoninae, 

 (omitting Bucheckcrius Schulz and Paropheltes Cameron) ; the Hell- 

 wigiini (omitting Diamon Gistel) ; the Nesomesochorini which he per- 

 sistently misspells as Neomeschorinae and which he holds belongs to 

 the Tryphoninae, (in this view the writer cannot concur as the Nesome- 

 sochorus Ashmead is almost morphologically identical with Nonnus 

 Cresson and should be placed near Zachresta Foerster according to 

 present day classifications) ; and the Megacerinae a group not in Ash- 

 mead's classification and held by Szepligeti to belong to the Tryphoninae. 



No attempt is made in the work under consideration to bring up to 

 date the first part of the Ophioninae published by the same author, so 

 the available genera omitted from that part are not accounted for 

 these genera are Odontagrypon Cameron in the Anomalini, Oph'nni- 

 oneura Cameron, Enicospilus Stephens and Gcnophion Felt in the 

 Ophionini and Hiatenso-r Brues and Protohelkvigia Brues of the 

 Ophioninae. 



The chief feature of this classification is the attempt to treat the Ophion- . 

 inae with a more or less fusiform abdomen and usually round propo- 

 deal spiracles as a separate group from those having a compressed 

 abdomen and with the propodeal spiracles usually elongate. In effect this 

 is to apply Foerster's division of the Campoplegini to the whole Ophion- 

 inae. Inasmuch as these characters are of doubtful value as a means 

 to a definite end even in the Campoplegini, and owing to the fact that 

 there are numerous examples of intermediates between completely com- 

 pressed abdomen and fusiformly compressed abdomen and between 

 round and elongate propodeal spiracles, the reviewer is of the opinion 

 that the present classification does not clear up the situation, but makes 

 the classification more unsatisfactory than ever. Are not the difficulties 

 attendant on separating Ichneumonidae into groups through the use of 

 the depression or compression of the abdomen great enough without 



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