109 



Miscellaneous Notes on Hymenoptera. 



AVirli l)('sei'i])ti(»ii.s of A'cw Cieiiera and S])ccies. 



BY.Tonx coi.iMifN i;i;ii)\vi:i.i.. 



1. IlYMEXorxEROLS Larvak wTiii Falcatk .M A .\ I >i i;i.i:s. 



.Mr. ('. E. Pembei'toii in his recent work on the lifc-h.i stor- 

 ies of the fruit fly parasites has found that the Opiiuc liraco- 

 nids and the Diapi'iid Galcsus Silrcsfrli have the tirst l:ii'\-al 

 stage provided with long falcate mandibles Avhich are used to 

 destroy other larvae in the same host. He has also in nn])uh- 

 lished studies on the life-historv of the parasite of the han- 

 tana Agromyzid descrilKMl in anotlier paper in this issue as 

 Opiiis hiiilruuie found the same type of tirst stage larva. Oglo- 

 hin found the same ty])e of larva in the Coccinellid liraeonid 

 DliKictiinpiis fcniiiiKif}is (Xees). I have found the same type 

 in the iJruehid ])arasite I/clcroxpil us pfastipidis ('rawford and 

 (ii'aeuieher has found a siniihti' laiA'a in some of the pni'Msitic 

 hees. 



On tlie othei' hand Pemberton and \\'illard in studies of 

 tile extei'ual ])arasite of lepidopterous hirvae here desci-ibed as 

 M irrohrucoH Feniheiionl have found an entirely ditl'erent ty])e 

 of first instar larva. The first stage larva of A //li i/ms, I'lri- 

 1(1 III jilts. Ti'f rasiirM IIS, Sciilcli isla . ;ind many other ( 'lialcidoid 

 ])ai-asite'S are very different. 



What then is the significance of the falcate^ mandibles^ 

 Ai-e ibey ])hvlogenetic in significance oi- a(bii»tive^ Tbi hitter 

 seems to be the case and we may ixu'liaps safely genera li/.e in 

 this way. (detain species of pnrasiiic 1 Iyni!'no])tera wliei'e tiii^ 

 ])rey or host is concealed and successi\-e parasiti/atioii is pi-dli- 

 able have independently developed ibe long fulcale manclible^ 

 wbicdi give a means for one larva to destroy the othei- Ai 

 any rate in the cases studied one larva alone reaches maturity 

 and in tbe case of some at least in whicdi the mandibles are 

 not so develo])ed more than one parasite can reach mahiritv 

 upon a single host. 



Proc. 1 law. Knt. Soc. TV, Xo. i, June, IQ19. 



