NO. 1977. MONOGRAPH OF THE 8IGNIPB0RINJE—GIRAVLT. 191 



occidentalis. Referring to the type species (flavopaUiata) of the 

 genus, after paraphrasing the original generic description, it was 

 written : 



In the Annual Report of the U. S. Department of Agriculture for 1880 (p. 371), we 

 called attention to this remarkable insect and stated that Mr. Ashmead was probably 

 in error in locating the "anomalous five-lobed appendage" upon the hind legs instead 

 of upon the middle legs, since it is probably homologous with the apical spur upon 

 the middle tibia so strongly developed in the Aphelininos and Encyrtinas. 



Subsequent rearings of specimens from Mytilaspis [Lepidosaphes] gloverii, and 

 Aspidotus cydonise [latanise] from Florida, from an Aleyrodes on oak from California, 

 by Mr. Coquillett, and from Aspidiotus aurantii [Maskell] by the same gentleman, as 

 well as the deposit of one of Mr. Ashmead 's types in the collection of the U. S. National 

 Museum, have enabled us to make a careful study of this peculiar genus. It differs 

 so markedly from all other knowii Chalcidid* that it must be placed in a subfamily 

 by itself, and we therefore propose for it the subfamily name Signiphorinse . Several 

 important points in the structure of the insect were not made out by I\Ir. Ashmead, 

 and with more abundant material at our disposal we have drawn up a somewhat 

 closer description of the genus and have characterized the subfamily, adding a 

 description of the new species reared by Mr. Coquillett from the Red Scale. 



SIGf-lSril'HOR.IlSr..^, SiaTDfaxn. nov. 



Tarsi 5-jointed. Apical spiu- of middle tibia long and with several long spines on 

 inner edge. Pronotum reaching nearly to tegulae. Mesoscutum entire. Mesoscutellum 

 represented by a narrow transverse band. Mesopleura short, sharply divided from 

 metapleura. Metascutum with a differentiated triangular central sclerite, resembling 

 the normal mesoscutellum. Antennae at most 8-jointed. Ovipositor cleft of female 

 abdomeft extending back to 3d segment, (p. 234). 



Five years later, Ashmead (1899) characterized the group exactly 

 as quoted later for his paper of 1904. In 1900 the same author 

 characterized it thus, quoting verbatim: 



Family LXVII. ENCYRTID.j:.i 



The three subfamilies mentioned above, into which this family is divided, may be 

 separated upon the following characters: 



Mesonotum not entire, most frequently depressed or concave on disk, rarely convex, 

 the parapsidal furrows distinct, or at least more or less present; marginal vein usually 



long Subfamily I. Eupelmin^. 



Mesonotum entire, convex or subconvex, the parapsidal furrows always entirely 

 wanting. 



Marginal vein rarely very long, often pimctiform, and always very much shorter than 

 the subcostal vein; stigmal vein usually short but distinct, rarely very long; scu- 

 tellum normal, the axillae never closely imited to form a transverse linear cslerite 

 atbase of scutellum ; middle tibise without lateral spurs. Subfamily II.-EucYRTiNiE. 

 Marginal vein long, as long or nearly as long as the subcostal vein ; scutellum abnor- 

 mal, the axillae closely imited without suture between, forming a transverse linear 

 sclerite at base of scutellum proper; middle tibiae with lateral spurs, the lateral 

 apical spur lobed Subfamily III. Signiphorin.e. 



On a previous page (p. 323) Ashmead had written: "The subfam- 

 ilies Eupelminae, Encyrtinse, and Signiphorinae, the latter based upon 



1 The footnote is omitted as irrelevant. 



