210 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



capilla. The last one, E. Solieri, from Marseille, is only known in the 

 wingless state. Rambur disbelieves that Oligotoma and Olyntha are 

 generically different from Embia. 



Hagen, 1848, had composed a review of the literature concerning the 

 Neuroptera (sensu Linn.) ; the part containing the Embidina was printed 

 February, 1849, Stett. Ent. Zeit. 



Mr. H. Lucas, in his splendid work, Expl. scient. de I'Algerie, has 

 described and figured his new species, Embia Maiiritmiica. This publi- 

 cation and the later one in 1859, ^''^■ve in fact opened the way of a better 

 knowledge of this interesting family. Nothing was known before on the 

 habits and nothing on the internal anatomy and the sex of the species. 

 As the expensive work of Mr. Lucas is not accessible to students, I prefer 

 to translate the following important passage given in a foot note, vol. iii., 

 p. 112 : 



As I liked to know to which sex belongs this (winged) form, I dis- 

 sected several specimens (only 12 were collected). The ovaria are very 

 elongate, covered by a very fine membrane, made more resistant by longi- 

 tudinal fibres, giving a striated appearance. The ovaria are united 

 internally, forming a kind of very elongated parallelogram, which covers 

 the intestina in the whole length of the abdomen. The egg tubes are 

 straight, parallel, very long, thick and fusiform ; toward the thorax the 

 tubes are successively thinner, prolongated in a thread, which is attached 

 together with the fibres to the first segment of the abdomen. Toward the 

 end of the abdomen the tubes are recurvated suddenly at their hind end 

 to form combined a very short oviduct, nearly null, with many lateral 

 tubiform vessels, which are very irregular, nodulose, embracing themselves 

 and recurvated in all directions (Lucas), 



Mr. Lucas states after the result of his dissections, that all twelve 

 winged specimens at his command are females, and that all showed the 

 same asymmetry of the last segment of the abdomen and of the appen- 

 dages. The winged male is still unknown. I have to remark that the 

 females of E. Mauritanica are the only known winged females 

 and the only known with asymmetry of the tip of the abdomen. Mc- 

 Lachlan, 1. c, p. 382, has stated the three specimens of his E. Fersica 

 as questionable females (all % ?), but does not say why, nor does he men- 

 tion symmetry or asymmetry of the tip of the abdomen ; therefore more 

 detailed information would be desirable. 



The detailed description of the ovaria by Lucas is also very important 



