IV I'KKIWCE. 



With thi' hiipf that such may prove to 1)0 the ca.se, the foHowing 

 tahh-s have heen coiiijiilt'd fnxn the writiiiirs of Wesmael, Holinsxren, 

 WestwiitMl, 'rhoinsoii, rascheiiherir. NortdU, Marshall, Andre, Mayr, 

 Saiituli'i>, IIi>\var(l. Caiiienni, Ashmead and utheis. Little or nothing 

 original in the arrangement is claimed l)y the compiler. The char- 

 iiftors given in many cases, especially in the Ichneunionida.', are very 

 inisatisfactory, otteji difHcidt to descrihe ijitelligihly, and yet they 

 are ahoiit the l)est that can he oHered with our |)resi'nt incomplete 

 knowledge. Donhtle.ss. after more careful .study has heen made, new 

 and more reliaiile characters will he discovered, that will make the 

 • livisions more easy, simple and correct. 



As a rule, oidy such genera Jis have heen found to occur within 

 our faunal limits are characterized in the synoptic tables given herein, 

 Itut in some families, e. g. Ichneumonidie, Braconidse, ChalcididjE 

 and IVoctotrupiihe (our material of which has been so little studied), 

 .some of the European genera, not yet recognized with us, but i)rol)- 

 ahly will be. are addc(l. and are indicate<l by an asterisk preceding 

 the nana*. 



As an aid to the student, the .synopsis is followed i»y an apj)roxi- 

 mately comph-te catalogue of the species that have been described as 

 inhabiting our fauna, <-losing with a li.st of w'orks and papers having 

 refereiK-e to our Ilymenoptera. 



In conclusictn, the compiler desires to express his thanks to the 

 Kev. T. A. .Marshall an.l Me.ss!-s. L. O. Howard, W. H. Ashmead 

 ami ( Jeorge H. ("re.<son, who have most kindly aidetl in the prepani- 

 ti<»n <tf this paper; ami especially does he feel grateful for the kind- 

 ness and friendship ol' Dr. ( }eorge II. Horn, who hiis most cheerfully 

 and willingly given hnvely of his vahial)le t'unv and nuich needed 

 information and advice. 



