HURD: THE ACULEATE WASPS 573 



THE ACULEATE WASPS 



Paul D. Hurd, Jr. 

 University of California, Berkeley 



In any review of the work accomplished during a certain period of time 

 what we really are doing is attempting to examine accumulated knowledge in 

 the light of the present in order that we may from the empirical evidence project 

 our lines of thought toward the future. It is helpful, tlierefore, to evaluate the 

 nature of the work undertaken in the study of the aculeate wasps during the 

 past century. Fortunately for the purposes of establishing a natural point of 

 reference, Frederick Smith published between 1853 and 1859 a catalogue of the 

 hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum, which, in a 

 measure, not only provided a summary of the knowledge of the known wasp 

 fauna of the world at that time, but, more importantly, pointed up the nature of 

 the investigations which had preceded this date. 



Large areas of the earth's surface were unexplored. Those areas that had 

 received the attention of the hymenopterist were so poorly known that even a 

 guess as to their faunistic composition and relationship could not be safely 

 hazarded. The classifications of earlier writers (mainly those of Latreille, Le- 

 peletier, and Dahlbom) were to a large degree inadequate and failed to afford 

 a true reflection of the nature and extent of the world wasp fauna. To be sure, 

 the wasp faunas of certain major political districts, such as England, France, 

 and Germany had received more intensive study and were accordingly consid- 

 ered comparatively well known. 



Several important lines of investigation suggested themselves following the 

 appearance of the catalogue. Perhaps paramount was the realization that much 

 material would be needed from Africa, Asia, Australasia, and the New World 

 before a better understanding of the world wasp fauna would be forthcoming. 

 Study of materials from the more poorly explored regions of the world sug- 

 gested that much revision of ideas concerning relationship, distribution, and 

 biology would be necessary. Consequent on these needs a greater effort to ac- 

 quire faunal representatives from the large biogeographical regions of the earth 

 was manifested in the increasing number of scientific expeditions. So remark- 

 able were some of the discoveries in foreign lands that travelers and voyagers 

 would return with tales of the gigantic sizes of the wasps. 



From the 1850 's until after the turn of the century the results of many of 

 the exploratory expeditions were reported upon. The work of this period largely 

 centered about the description of the material acquired and was usually in the 

 form of large faunal works covering continental or subcontinental regions. Note- 

 worthy contributions on this scale were made by Andre in Europe and North 

 Africa (1882 et seq.), Ashmead in Hawaii (1901), Bingham in India (1897- 

 1913), Cameron in Central America and the Orient (1888 et seq.), and Cresson 

 (1867 et seq.) in North America. Toward the end of the nineteenth century 

 an important deviation in the type of treatment occurred. Faunal studies began 

 to be reduced in geographic scope. The revision or monograph of various cate- 

 gories usually of generic or familial level became more popular and provided a 



