Cabinet of the British Museum, taken it is believed by Dr. 

 Leach in Devonshire, and a female (the one figured) taken by 

 myself in the autumn, I think in the same county ; which is 

 rendered the more probable, because, if it had been a species 

 inhabiting the neighbourhood of London, it must have been 

 met with before; for there can be little doubt that insects 

 so very similar in form have nearly the same habitats. P. ater 

 is by no means a rare insect ; it may be found during the 

 month of July in hedges and trees at Darent, Birch and 

 Coombe Woods. 



Meigen in 1804- first published this Genus under the name 

 of Pachygaster in his celebrated work in 4to, Klassifikazion 

 und Besclireibung &c., t. 1. p. 146: in the following year 

 Fabricius's Systema Antliatorum was published, where the 

 Genus is called Vappo, which Latreille has adopted ; but as it 

 is clear that Meigen has a claim to priority, I have retained 

 his name in preference, which I am the more inclined to do, 

 because in his last invaluable work the Genus is again pre- 

 sented to us under the name of Pachygaster. It is a little un- 

 fortunate that Germar has applied that name to a Genus of 

 the CurculioniddB ; but as that was only published in 1817, it 

 must of course be discarded. 



The plant figured is Viola odorata var. alba (Sweet Violet). 



