A. A. GIRAULT. 43 



Synonymic and Descriptive Notes on the Chalcirtoicl 

 Family TRICHOGRAMMATID^: with Descrip- 

 tions of New Species. 



BY A. A. GIRAULT. 



These synonymic and descriptive notes form another lot 

 of matter which I wish to eliminate from a revision of the 

 family now in preparation. In another paper I described 

 some new genera which it was necessary to establish but my 

 final revision of the genera has not been definitely formed as 

 yet. Thus Pentar-thvon Riley I may finally decide to com- 

 bine with Trichogramma Westwood ; and Westwoodella Ash- 

 mead with Oligosita Haliday. Several new species in both 

 of these questioned genera are described in this paper. Pen- 

 tarthron minidum (Riley) I have left untreated until later as 

 I have not decided as yet just what its limiting specific char- 

 acters are ; it is very widely distributed, variable and has a 

 great number of hosts scattered over several orders of insects. 

 In regard to Trichogramma Westwood I must confess that I 

 do not know what it is excepting what may be known by con- 

 sulting Westwood's original and revised descriptions of it 

 and what I have learned indirectly concerning it. 



Besides these few points, there is another in regard to the 

 value of the two subfamilies and the distribution of the vari- 

 ous genera among them. 



It will be noticed in the descriptive matter following that 

 for specific characters wing ciliation, relative width and length 

 of the wings, the form of certain antennal joints, habitus and 

 the like have been relied upon more and more and general 

 coloration, unless very marked, less and less so that colora- 

 tion here takes minor rank in most instances as a specific 

 character. This is so because the other characters are more 

 stable and more easily distinguished. In certain genera, 

 notably Pentarthron Riley {mintihmi) , there exist what are 

 undoubtedly biological species but I do not consider them of 

 importance when viewed from a strictly systematic stand- 

 point ; in practice they are not perceivable as systematic 

 units; nevertheless, I think they must be viewed as potential 

 systematic units. 



TRANS. AM. ENT. SOC. , XXX VII. 



