116 [May, 



Care slioiikl tliereforo be taken by eolleotors not to "pin" tlirougb tlie scii- 

 telluni, nor tlirougli Llic impressions nt its base. I'erliaps tlie most harmless place 

 for a pin is in the middle of one nf the side lohes of the me sonotutn — then at least a 

 full half of the thorax is left, undatnagcd. 



These, I believe, are the chief characters to which wo shall have 

 to refer hereafter. It is obvious that many of theui cannot be seen 

 if the specimens are "carded" with outspread wings hiding the 

 pleura), uiiguiculi clogged with gum, ventral surface close against the 

 card, clypcus inaccessible to a Coddiugton, &c., &c. To me personally 

 it ap[)ears that <»11 elaborate and artificial methods of " setting" servo 

 only to make insects more difficult of determination — at any rate in 

 the case of Hj/menoptera. All that I over do myself is to separate 

 the wings a little, usually by blowing on them,aud to see that at least 

 one leg displays its claws sufficiently. But I fear it will need a more 

 persuasive pen than mine to induce collectors universally to abandon 

 the methods they are used to. I cannot, however, refrain from 

 pointing out, that insects low down on a short and pliable pin are in 

 great danger of accidents to legs, antennae, &e., if labels are attached 

 beneath them ; and that they are also especially difficult to deal with 

 either by means of a Coddington or a compound microscope, as well 

 as being peculiarly liable to accumulate dust, mould, &c., and to be 

 attacked by mites and such like [)ests, oven when they are left 

 unstudied in the cabinet. 



I come now to the question of classification. 



'J'he insects which we call Saw-flies (including Hircx^ &c., among 

 them), are known in Germany as Leaf- wasps (Blattwespen). Konow 

 treats them as the third of the " Subordines " into which he divides 

 the Ordo IIymenopier((, and gives to this Subordo the name Chalnsto- 

 (jastra. He divides his Subordo into three Families — 1, Lijdidw, 2, 

 Siricidce, o, TeHthredinidw, and each of these again successively into 

 subfamilies, tribes, genera, and species. For our limited fauna it may 

 suffice, after this explanation of the S3^stem, to enumerate the suh- 

 families and cjenera under which our British Saw-flies should, according 

 to Konow's views, be placed, and to give, the names of tribes only in 

 the case of one great subfamily (the Tenthredinini), which embraces 

 a large number of tribes and the greater ])art of our native genera. 

 (For a complete account of the matter, reference may be made to 

 Konow's Ghalastofjastra, I. c, p. 119 of the " Mouogi-aph," p. 263 of 

 the '' Zeitschrift "). 



The Genera which I shall include in this List are all known to 



