1907.] 7? 



of the Sub-family Tenthredinini, except the Nematides. Froui most 

 genera of this latter tribe they may be distiiiguished at a glance by 

 the radial cell, which is always " divided." Some Nematides, however 

 {Dineura, &c.), have also a "divided " radial cell ; and from such we 

 cannot separate the Blennocampides by characters of the fore-wings 

 only, but by the absence of some other point essential to the defini- 

 tion of a true Nematid, e.y., well-developed gense, complete neuration 

 in the hind-wing (humerus, cubital n. and medial n. all present), &c., 

 for which see Ent. Mo. Mag., August, 1904, p. L7G. Two of Kouow's 

 Blennocampid genera consist of insects which were formerly reckoned 

 among the Nematides, and which still stand in our British lists as 

 Dineura, spp. These are Mesoneura and Pseudodineura. The rest 

 of the tribe is made up of species classed hitherto under three genera 

 only {Blennocampa, Fenusa, and Fenella), but now broken up into 

 no less than fourteen. 



The coloration of Blennocampids is generally sombre, black or 

 (very rarely) black and red, never green, nor ochreous, nor conspicu- 

 ously variegated with yellow or white. Their form is usually stout 

 and clumsy looking, and their movements in life rather slow and 

 sluggish. When alarmed they often feign death, dropping to the 

 ground or to the bottom of a collector's net and remaining motionless. 

 While fresh their bodies are soft and plump ; but after death they 

 shrivel up and lose shape greatly, so that they seldom form attractive 

 objects in a collection, either by their colours or their shapes. Their 

 average length of body may be stated at from 4 to 6 mill., a few 

 species reach to a length of 9 mill., aud some are not above 2 mill, 

 long, or even less. Naturally with old aud shrivelled specimens 

 it is difficult to take more than approximate measurements. The 

 wings are broad, but weak, and liable to creasiugs and crump- 

 lings, which make a careful examination of their neuration rather 

 troublesome work. Still, there is seldom much ditficulty, after a 

 little practice, in ascertaining the specific identity of a Blennocampid ; 

 provided it be so prepared as to be accessible all over to a lens. 

 Carded specimens, of Tomostethus especially, are sometimes exces- 

 sively troublesome, because their chief characters lie in those parts of 

 the head aud thorax which are rendered invisible by that mode of 

 preparation. 



By way of clearing the ground, before we attempt to tabulate 

 the longer genera, it may be well to dispose of some containing only 

 a single British species each, which ought therefore to be determin- 



