EMBIOPTERA OF THE NEW WORLD — ROSS 491 



Type data. — In bark. 5 miles northeast of Pensacola, Fla., on shores 

 of Escambia Bay, February 9, 1943 (matured March 10) (E. S. Ross). 



Paratypes. — Numerous males and females with above data; depos- 

 ited in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, the California Academy 

 of Sciences, and writer's collection. One male, St. Augustine, Fla., 

 March 4, 1940, "beating vegetation" (E. C. Van Dyke) (CAS). 



Additional records. — Florida : Two males, Florida Fruit Fly Sur- 

 vey, Duval County, December 30, 1929 (L. L. Knight) (USNM) ; two 

 males, Paradise Key, March 2, 1919 (H. S. Barber) (USNJSI) . South 

 Carolina : Several males and feniales, Sumter and vicinity, February 

 10, 1943 (E. S. Ross). (See also p. 499.) 



Remarks. — This species is named for Dr. E. C. Van Dyke, who col- 

 lected the first specimen to come before the writer. 



O. (D.) vandykei is readily distinguished from other Oligembias 

 by its medially toothed right mandible and the greatly produced, 

 pointed ventral lobe of the left cercus-basipodite. It is apparently 

 related to carihheana of Cuba, which has a similar lobe but which 

 has no medial tooth on the mandible. 0. hubhardi, the only other 

 known Florida Oligemhia, is easily separated, by means of its single 

 mesal lobe of the basipodite. 



O. vnndyhei is apparently a widespread species, perhaps ranging 

 throughout Florida, and along the Gulf shore at least as far as New 

 Orleans, and up the Atlantic Coastal Plain probably as far as south- 

 eastern Virginia. In habits the species is identical to j/ielanura of 

 Texas, except that the colonies appear to occur mostly on the exposed 

 sunny sides of isolated trees. At Pensacola, Fla., large numbers of 

 colonies were found in the bark of live oaks, which had deeply grooved 

 and extensively flaked bark. Few lichens were present. At Sumter, 

 S. C, the colonies were abundant on the bark of both live and deciduous 

 oaks. The tunnels were usually spun beneath lichens. In both locali- 

 ties the males were in the penultimate instar in early February perhaps 

 indicating a cyclic development independent of seasons or geographic 

 position. 



An interesting case of predatism comparable to that of the Sclero- 

 gibbidae was noted at Pensacola. Numerous Embioptera were found 

 dead in the tunnels in a soft, shriveled condition. Usually near such 

 individuals small (3 mm.), pink fly larvae or pupae were found, the 

 latter being enclosed in loose silken cocoons. Itonididae (formerly 

 Cecidomyiidae) were reared from the pupae, which, according to C. T. 

 Greene, appear to be either of the genus FeltieUa Rlibsaamen or of 

 Lestodiplosis Kieffer. This is ih^ first record of Embioptera as hosts 

 of these predatory fly larvae. 



