E. T. CRESSON, JR. 197 



THE BASSETT TYPES OF CYNIPIDAE 

 (HYMENOPTERA) 



BY E. T. CRESSON, JR. 



In 1901 The American Entomological Society received a 

 letter from Mr. Ezra T. Cresson, dated June 25, stating that, 

 "Mr. H. F. Bassett, of Waterbiiry, Connecticut, who has for 

 thirty years made a special study of North American galls and 

 gall-flies, being now in poor health and unable to continue the 

 study, desires to present his collection, with all his types, to 

 The American Entomological Society, in trust, to be preserved 

 and kept separate and distinct from other collections and to be 

 known as the Homer F. Bassett Collection: a memorial of his 

 life-work in entomology." The collection was accepted and is 

 now one of the valued possessions of this Society. Mr. Bassett's 

 entire collection, however, did not come to the Society, which 

 fact is evident by the presence of some type-material in the 

 American Museum of Natural History and other collections. 

 This situation may be partially explained upon examining 

 some of the correspondence between Mr. Bassett and Mr. 

 Cresson. In a letter dated June 12, 1901, Mr. Bassett writes 

 that he had divided his collection, "preparing some of the types 

 for Yale and Cornell, but the full types and the main collection" 

 for the American Entomological Society. After Mr. Bassett's 

 death in 1902, Mrs. Bassett evidently disposed of this duplicate 

 collection. 



Mr. Bassett sent his collection to the Society in various sized 

 card-board boxes, generally with the insects and their galls in 

 the same box, the former in cotton. This method did not lend 

 itself to proper care and attention; consequently, upon their 

 receipt by the Society, the insects, or a representative i)art of 

 them, were carefully mounted on points, and the galls placed in 

 trays. 



Of the one hundred and twenty-five species described by ]\Ir. 

 Bassett, this collection contains all but two, and these ma}' 

 later be found among the undetcirmined material. In the fol- 

 lowing list, the type specimen is untlerstood to l)e in good con- 

 dition unless otherwise noted. 



TRANS. AM. ENT. SOC, XLVUI. 



