THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 211 



for the systenicatic position of the Embidina. Indeed it disposes for ever 

 of the claims of relation with the Perlidae, of which the peculiar and very 

 different form of the ovaria is well known. The ovaria of all 

 groups of the Orthoptera are different, as far as known to me, and among 

 the Pseudoneuroptera the Psocina differ also entirely. The only related 

 form of ovaria we find among the Termitina, and indeed the inner organs 

 of a virgin female of Ternies is as similar as if the description by Mr. 

 Lucas had been made after one of them. I think this similarity speaks 

 indeed very strong in favor of the place of the Embidina near to the 

 Termitina. 



It should be remarked that the vol. iii. of the Expl. scient. de I'Algerie, 

 though it has on the title page 1849, ^^ published later. At least De Selys 

 Longchamps Revue des Odonates d'Europe, preface February 24, 1850, 

 was not able to give the pages and plate of the Odonata described by 

 himself for this work (f p. 315, 318, etc.), and the Odonata in the Ex- 

 ploration follow the Embia. 



For the only known facts up to the present concerning the habits of 

 Embia, their living in silken tunnels spun by themselves, by the wingless 

 and by the winged form, we are indebted to Mr. Lucas in the Explor. and 

 in his later paper, Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr., 1859, ^^^"^ ^^'^^ corroboration of the 

 same for £m^. Latreillei, ibid., 1883. He believes these insects to be 

 carnivorous. 



Fr. Walker, 1853, List of Neuropt. in the British Museum, p. 529-533, 

 copies mostly Burmeister. Of the eight species mentioned, one is new, 

 Oly?ttha staphilhioidcs from Brazil, but it belongs to Forficula. 



Hagen, 1866, Verh. Zool. Bot. Gesell. Wien, collected in his Synopsis 

 Embidinorum all known to him about these insects. He enumerates 

 eleven species, two of them probably synonyms, two without description. 

 Only seven were considered as doubtless. 



Mr. R. McLachlan, 1877, Li"n. Soc. Journ., vol. xiii., p. 373-384, pi. 

 I, pubHshed a paper which gave a new and strong impulse to the study of 

 this remarkable family — " On the Nymph-stage of P^mbidae, with Notes 

 on the Habits of the Family." He had the good chance to study living 

 insects imported with an East Indian orchid. The carnivorous habits of 

 Embids, accepted on the authority of Mr, Lucas, became at least doubt- 

 ful, as this species makes depredations on the roots of orchids. McLach- 

 lan gives a review of all known and published on Embids, and describes 

 four new species, Oligotoma ATichaeli, Embia Batesi, E. Salvini, E, 



