PROCEEDINGS OF THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



issued 



SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 

 U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Vol. 88 Washington: 1940 No. 3086 



A CONTEIBUTION TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE 

 EUCHAEIDAE (HYMENOPTEEA: CHALCIDOIDEA) 



By A. B. Gahan 



The following notes and descriptions are published principally in 

 order to make names available for various species of Eucharidae that 

 have been submitted for determination. 



Family EUCHARIDAE 



The family Eucharidae is an extensive one, comprising many of the 

 most striking forms to be found in the Chalcidoidea. It is evident 

 that only relatively few of the existing species as yet have been 

 described. In view of the many weird and unusual forms to be found 

 in the family, one might expect their classification to be an esisj matter, 

 but such is not the case. Supposed generic distinctions often inter- 

 grade, making it difficult to be sure of the correct placement for a 

 given species, and specific distinctions are often extremely subtle, 

 consisting of slight differences in sculpture that are hard to describe 

 and may easily be overlooked. So far as known all the species are 

 parasites of Formicoidea or at least associated with ants, and the 

 biologies of the few species of which the habits are known are not only 

 very interesting but quite complicated. 



Genus EUCHARIS Latreille 



EUCHARIS SCUTELLARIS. new species 



Closely resembles adscetidens Fabricius, as that species stands rep- 

 resented in the National Museum by specimens identified by Dr. F. 



193254—40 1 425 



