BY ROWLAND K. TURNEK. 207 



at present mostly belonging to Methoca, but Tullgren* has 

 recently described a new genus Aehtroldes from a female some- 

 what resembling those of Aelurus; and it is probable that further 

 collecting will reveal the existence of other forms. We can see 

 from its range that the group is one of southern origin, affording 

 an example of relationship between the Australian and South 

 American fauna in a group of by no means world-wide range. 



A wide field is open to entomologists in revealing the life- 

 history of these insects, of which practically nothing is known 

 as yet. Bakewell reared a specimen from a subterranean pupa 

 of a moth; but one or two of the males of small Queensland 

 species may be taken flying with species of Bemh^^x around their 

 nests; and Mr. C. French has bred a large Victorian specimen 

 allied to Thynny.s rihfiventris Guer., from a cocoon closely resem- 

 bling th-^t formed in rotten wood by the large fossorial wasp, 

 Salius aiistralasicH Sm. These facts point to the probability that 

 many species will be found to be parasitical on other Aculeate 

 Hymenoptera as are the MntillidcH. 



The females of most of the species are probably very short- 

 lived, their mouths being in such a rudimentary state that it is 

 hardly likely that they make any use of them for feeding. 

 Although the female is often carried by the male to l)lossoms, she 

 does not seem to join him in feeding. The female seems to be 

 seized by the male immediately on emergence in many cases. 



The large number of species and the great diversity of form 

 existing among them render a considerable difference in their 

 life-histories probable; nor is it likely that in a group in which 

 individuals are so numerous, the species should be at all narrowly 

 limited in their selection of a host. 



The extreme variation in the form of the hypopygium renders 

 any observation on the uses to which that p^rt is put valuable. 

 It does not seem to be necessarily connected with any modifica- 

 tion of the copulatory armature, nor to be co-related to the 



Arkiv Zool. i. 1904. 



