THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 225 



There are thus known from Europe one, perhaps two, species ; from 

 Africa three, and from the islands near to it one more ; from Asia three, 

 perhaps four; from North and Central America, three : from South Amer- 

 ica, four species ; from the Sandwich Islands, one ; none from Australia. 

 Probably only a small part of the living Embitina is known, and these 

 only in very few specimens, which still form, as they did half a century ago. 

 the gems of the collections. As far as I know, four species are represented 

 by single specimens only, three by two specimens, one by three specimens, 

 two by four, seven by more specimens, but none in a number sufficient to 

 understand the whole history of the insect. 



Systematic position and relation. 



Prof: Westwood, with his usual sagacity, recognized directly that the 

 three species known to liim represented three different forms. So he 

 accepted one large genus, with three sub-genera, which were considered 

 to be genera by Prof Burmeister, but united again in one large genus by 

 Rambur. McLachlan accepted only two genera, Embia combined with 

 Olyntha and OHgotoma. 



The species belonging to Oligotoma are decidedly a very homogeneous 

 group. The only aberrant species, O. IVestwoodi, differs by a plainer 

 and apparently aborted venation of the wings. Their principal characters 

 are, the more slender form of the body, the small and longer ovoid or 

 obcordate head ; the antennae as long as head and thorax, or mostly 

 shorter, with fewer (14 to 20) joints ; the narrow prothorax ; the compar- 

 atively long legs ; the narrow abdomen, with shorter appendages, and be- 

 tween them protruding the male genitals ; the narrow wings, not longer 

 than the abdomen, with a plain venation, and only one lower branch of the 

 submediana. Asymmetry known only in the male sex. Oligotoma is 

 known from the warm regions of the whole world, and represented in 

 copal and amber. The species belonging to Olyntha form also a homo- 

 geneous group. The body is larger and broader ; the head is broader, 

 shorter, with antennae as long as the body, with a third more (to 32) 

 joints ; thorax larger ; the legs more slender ; the abdomen broad, with 

 longer appendages (male genitals not well known) ; the wings are longer 

 than the abdomen, much broader, the venation more complicated by two 

 lower branches of the submediana. The coloration of the species is very 

 uniform. No asymmetry is known. Olyntha is known only from South 

 America and from Central America. 



