Dec, igio.] GiRAULT : On THE FAMILY MyMARID^. 233 



SYNONYMIC AND DESCRIPTIVE NOTES ON THE 

 CHALCIDOID FAMILY MYMARID^. 



By a. a. Girault. 



Urbana, III. 



There can be no doubt in regard to the family Mymaridse that 

 more attention will have to be given to minor descriptive details in 

 order that the different species may be recognized; the characters 

 heretofore used, especially that of body coloration, are certainly too 

 indefinite for separation of the species and the cases of a number of 

 the larger genera of the family may be cited to show that this is 

 true. The various species of these genera are barely recognizable 

 at this time ; and this is so because the several descriptions are based 

 on coloration alone which happens to be inconsequential in these 

 particular groups. The species of the genera, large in regard to 

 size such as Polyncma Haliday, bear a number of differentiating 

 characters of specific value in the sculpturing of the body but with the 

 exception of one or two nearly all of them are similar or indis- 

 tinguishable in regard to general coloration of the body. In other 

 genera the several species are apparently similar both in regard to 

 general coloration and the sculpturing of the body, and in these cases 

 the only characters of specific value are found in the wing ciliation 

 and in the relative size and shape of antennal joints. It is useless, 

 therefore in both of these classes of genera to describe species as we 

 have been in the habit of doing, namely, by describing their color 

 alone for certainly, here, no other than the author of species will 

 ever be able to recognize the species so described, and he himself not 

 without difficulty. 



In view of what has been stated, the following descriptive notes 

 are offered as contributary knowledge of the morphology of several of 

 the genera and species and also as an example of the method neces- 

 sary for separation of the species. The great difficulty in accurately 

 describing some of these minute and delicate forms, the necessity of 

 making descriptions in most cases immediately after the specimens 

 have been collected and the lack of essential knowledge concerning 

 our native species are other reasons for enlarging on the descriptive 

 work alreadv done. 



