9 2 



TRANS. ST. LOUIS ACAD. SCIENCE. 



Hence it is, I think, sufficiently evident that the three supposed 

 species are identical, inasmuch as intermediate grades occur in 

 almost all the distinctive characters, and those characters are 

 such as often vary in allied genera. We find, for instance, very 

 similar variations in Ichneumon Comes, Cress., which sometimes 

 has the metathorax all black, sometimes almost entirely yellow, 

 and the 2d and 3d abdominal joints sometimes almost entiiely 

 black, sometimes almost entirely yellow, with all the possible gra- 

 dations from one form to another. Brulle says himself, that in 

 Bosc's original collection, from which he derived all his speci- 

 mens, his two supposed species were labelled as identical. Of 

 course, Say's name (1836) takes precedence of Brulle's (1S46). 

 As the head of Say's unique specimen of 2 pollinctorius was 

 lost, it may be well to add here that the 2 agrees with his de- 

 scription of the % head. Rufipes, Cress., and pulcfiellus, Cress., 

 are sufficiently distinguished from pollinctorius, Say, by numer- 

 ous characters. 



A % specimen of necatorius (England) differs from pollincto- 

 rius % , as described by Say, in having the entire facial shield yel- 

 low, not merely its "lateral and basal margins" and in the entire 

 antenna being luteous beneath, instead of the basal joint only be- 

 ing "whitish." The hind tibiae are also "yellow," as noticed by 

 Say, instead of black. The distinction that Brulle lays down, viz. 

 that the hind femora of necatorius are "black below" and those 

 of his pi 'natorius "black at tip," does not hold good with this % , 



