— 144— 



published by Mr. S. F. Aaron, containing diagnostic descriptions of 

 genera and species. Seventy-four species are described, over one-half of 

 which are new to science. Nearly all are contained in the collections of 

 the American Entomological Society, of which Mr. Aaron is the curator. 

 A list of the more important writings on the Chrysididte is appended, and 

 the paper is illustrated in five plates (Transactions of the American Ento- 

 mological Society, xii. 1885, pp. 209-248). 



Mr. Wm. H. Ashmead has given a Biographical and Synonymical 

 Catalogue of the North American CynipidGe, containing 172 species, to- 

 gether with a list of the trees and plants upon which they occur. It ap- 

 pears that these insects are so nearly confined to oaks (of the twenty 

 species enumerated), that only 13 species have other food-plants (Id. ib.. 

 pp. 291-304). 



From the same author we also have Studies on North American 

 Chalcididce, giving descriptions of 55 new species from Florida and notes 

 upon others (Month. Proc. Am. Ent. Soc. for Dec 1885, pp. X-XIX; 

 Trans. A. E. S.. xiii, pp. 125-135). 



Mr. L. O. Howard, of the Entomological Division of the U. S. De- 

 partment of Agriculture, who for several years past has been engaged in 

 the study of the interesting and serviceable family of the Chalcididce, is 

 contributing to Entomologica Americana, a generic synopsis of the fa- 

 mily, which he has divided into twenty subfamilies. The European 

 genera have been combined with our own, as many of them will doubt- 

 less be hereafter detected in this country (Ent. Amer. i, pp. 197-199, 

 215-219, ii, 33-39, 97-101). A list of the North American species by 

 Mr. Howard, may be found in Bulletin V of the Division of Entomo- 

 logy, which also embraced the first of a series of papers descriptive of the 

 ChahididcE in the collection of the Department, most of which were un- 

 described. 



Contributions to the knowledge of our Hymenoptera, have also 

 been made by Messrs. G. J. Bowles (Canadian Entomologist, xvii, p. 

 231), J. A. Guignard (id. xviii, p 68), Wm. H. Harrington (id., pp. 

 30,38, 45; Trans. No. 6 of Ottowa Field Naturalist's Club), G. W. 

 Taylor (Canad. Ent., xviii, p. 250), and I. W. Fyles (ib., p. ^8). 



We are greatly pleased to learn that Mr. Ezra T. Cresson, to whom 

 we are more largely indebted than to any other person for the knowledge 

 of our North American Hymenoptera, is engaged upon a synopsis of the 

 order, and that such progress has been made in its preparation that its 

 publication may be expected before many months. 



In the LEPIDOPTERA a volume has been given to the public 

 the present year, which we hope will be followed by others of the kind, 

 in other of the orders, that greatly needed wants may be met. 



