NO. 7 



PROTECTIVE ADAPTATIONS McATEE 



89 



classes ; that is, that they are either bad eating or bad stingers." 

 (Tropical Africa, p. 163.) 



Mimicry of a group is supposed to be a tribute to its specially 

 defended character and it is said that : " The hymenoptera including 

 the formidable hornets, wasps, bees and ants are more frequently 

 mimicked than any other order." (Poulton, The colours of animals, 

 p. 245, 1890.) " Stinging hymenoptera .... are sedulously avoided 

 by insectivorous creatures in general." (Bastin, Insects, their life- 

 histories and habits, p. 247, 1913.) Numerous Hymenoptera which 

 do not possess stings are said to mimic those that do have them and 

 species of one non-stinging group, the sawflies, are alleged to be 

 protected in the larval stage by distasteful or disagreeable internal or 

 external secretions. 



Bird eiicinies.— For many years difficulty was experienced in ob- 

 taining identifications of hymenoptera and the following table plainly 

 shows the effect of this situation, more than a third of the determina- 

 tions being to the order only. 



Identifications of Hymenoptera 



Percentage 



of species 



of this family 



among the 

 whole number 

 Percentage of of species 



identifications of these 



among those groups in 



_ Number of of all New York 



Family identifications Hymenoptera State ^ 



Xyelidae 2 .0074 .4640 



Pamphiliidae 5 .0185 1.2529 



Tenthredinidae 263 -9732 17.5407 



Xiphydriidae 5 .0185 •3248 



Siricidae 16 .0592 -3719 



Cephidae 2 .0074 .2320 



Oryssidae i .0037 -1392 



Tenthredinoidea (further 



unidentified) 85 .3145 



Vipionidae 72 .2664 .9745 



Alysiidae 13 .0481 .2320 



Capitoniidae i .0037 



Braconidae 28 .1036 9.0488 



Evaniidae 5 .0185 .3719 



Trigonalidae i .0037 .6496 



Ichneumonidae 1,113 4.1184 25.6614 



Ichneumonoidea ( further 



unidentified) 13 .0481 



^ Computed from Bradley, J. Chester, Hymenoptera, in A list of the insects of 

 New York, etc., Mem. loi, Cornell Univ. Agric. Exp. Sta., pp. 870-1,033, 1926, 

 the most comprehensive checklist of nearctic forms available. 



