1883.] 



181 



EEMARKS ON CERTAIN PSOCIDJE, CHIEFLY BRITISH. 

 BY R. McLACHLAN, F.R.S., &c. 



Psocus (JSTeopsocus) khenanus, Kolbe. 



On the 30tli July, 1882, the Rev. A. E. Eaton was in the Apennino 



Pistojese, Central Italy, and was staying at the Villa Marghareta, near 



San Marcello. In the grounds of the hotel he turned over a large 



slightly embedded stone in search of Isopods. Under this stone was 



a nest of a small ant (Myr- 

 mica sp.), and in company 

 with the ants were a num- 

 ber of a pretty little Psocus, 

 mostly fully winged, but 

 also others (that he did 

 not capture) with unde- 

 veloped wings, which 

 prove identical with a spe- 

 cies recently described (Entomol. Nachrichten, viii, p. 207, August, 

 1882) by Kolbe under the name Neopsocus rhenanus, found by Dr. 

 Bertkau under a stone (apparently 7wt in company with ants) in 

 Rhenish Prussia. 



The main characters of Neopsocus, as distinguished from Psocus 

 (restricted), are: — ■? sub-apterous, ^ with fully developed wings; 

 body clothed with microscopic, thickened, truncate, erect glandular 

 hairs (most numerous in the ? ). In the anterior wings the lower 

 angle of the pterostigma is produced into a very short thickened spur- 

 vein* (to be seen in a greatly exaggerated form in the Indian Am- 

 phipsocus, McLach.). 



The species is an exceedingly pretty little insect, about G^ mm. in 

 expanse, with hyaline wings, on the anterior of which are fuliginous 

 spots and bands arranged as in the figure ; the pterostigma whitish 

 (or yellowish) at its commencement ; the neuration black, partly milk- 

 white. 



The Italian individuals have the markings of the wings rather 

 darker than in the only example I have seen from Prussia. 



It is probable that Neopsocus may be really entitled to generic 

 rank (especially on account of the nearly apterous $ ) . In the 

 eight Italian examples before me the neuration is extremely un- 

 stable in minute details (all possess the spur-vein). As to the con- 

 dition of the discoidal cell, most of them would (on this character) fall 



In the figure here given this is not sufficiently indicated. 



