(;i:m:ka of iiymexoptera. 



Fiji- ^■ 



thi' iiui»n'ss(Ml line** between the lobes, termed parapsidal grooves or 

 furrows (g), are fmiuently used in chanicterizin-r certain genera 



aniontr the j^inaller Parasitica. The 

 sciifelhim (c) is generally flat, or sim- 

 ply convex, sometimes square, or scu- 

 tatiforin, or bituberculate, and occa- 

 siftiialiv ariiuMl witli spines or teeth ; 

 ill the Ichneumonidre it is sometimes 

 pyramidal and often of diflerent color 

 tVorn the rest of the thorax. The 7>o.>sf- 

 scutdlnm (d) is almost always narrow 

 and inconspicuous, rarely armed with 

 a spine as in Oxyheliis. The metatho- 

 nix (e) is variously formed, generally 

 short and rounded posteriorly, some- 

 times elongate and truncate hdiiiid. 

 a. proihor.-»x: b, nicsoihorax ; c, .^^^^^ occasionally l)itid)erculate or bi- 



scutelluni ; d, postscutelliim ; e, meta- . i • i 



thorax; f. teguia ; g, parapsidal spmosc ; ou each Side towards the base 

 grooves. jg placed a small spiracle, which is 



either round, oval or linear; the Tenthredinidie often exhibit two 

 very small white spots (cenchri) at the sides of the extreme basal 

 portion : in the Ichneumonidie the metathorax is often more or less 

 distinctly areolatcd. 'Uie pleunt or breast is the lateral portion of 

 the thorax beneath the wings, and is very seldom referred to in cliai- 

 actcrizing genera. 



The AN'iN(;s (fig. 4, anterior; tig. '), j)o.-<terior) are four in nund)er, 

 naki'd, incndiranous and horizontal ; the anterior pair generally much 

 larger than the posterior, the extreme base of the former being pro- 

 tected by a scaly plate, called the iegula (fig. 3, f ) ; tiiey are fur- 

 nished with yeins oi- nervures, tor the most part anaiiiicd longitudi- 

 mdly !ind transyei-sely (but never forming a close net-work as in the 

 Neuroptera', the spaces enclosed between the nervures are of various 

 sizes ami shapes and are termed (rlln and are fully illustrated and 

 explained in the diagrams given below. In .<ome families, e.g. Chal- 

 cidiihe and I'roc-totrupidaj, the nundx r of these yeins or nervures is, 

 Ijowever, liable to considerable reduction, tiie wings being almost, or 

 even entirely destitute of them and aic often more or le.-s |»ubescent. 

 In a genus of the last-named I'andly the anterior wings are yirv i(»ng, 

 consisting of a linear branch, dilated and spatulate at tip and ciliate 

 with \"\\'s Imir-; in another geiuis they are notched at the extremity. 



