INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 21 



separated, with great judgment, the Proaheille of 

 Reaumur from Jpis. His generic characters are 

 taken from the mouth {os), antenna, 2vings, ab- 

 domen, and aculeus, which are introduced into 

 every genus. The prol-oscis, which not only dis- 

 tinguishes ^'^pis and Nomada, but is also very pro- 

 perly noticed in Fespa. The eyes, Apis, Nomada, 

 Vespa, and Sphex. This Linneus, in the twelfth 

 edition of the Systema Nature, has adopted with 

 respect to Vespa. The amis, Chrysis and Sirex. 

 His families, in which he has improved much upon 

 Linneus, especially in Ichneumon and Formica, are 

 taken from the ayitenna (z), the absence of the 

 ivings (a), and the abdomen (/>). Both this author 

 and GeofFroy, without sufl'icieiit reason, have taken 

 perpetual liberty to alter the Linnean names of the 

 genera, a practice which has occasioned a great 

 deal of confusion and answered no good end. 



Schrank, in his Enumeratio Insectorum Austrice, 

 has added the following circumstance to the Lin- 

 nean definition of the class, " Os maxillis trans- 

 versis." This character, which runs through all 

 the species, seems well introduced, and renders the 

 endless repetition of " Qs maxillis," in the Artijicial 

 Characters of the genera, perfectly needless. He 

 has also introduced some slight alterations into the 

 generic characters of Sir ex. Ichneumon, Sphex, 

 Chrysis, and Formica ; but in the main he adheres 

 to those of Linneus. 



(x) Sphex, Ichneumon, Tenthredo. (a) Ichneumon. 



(jb) Ichneumon, Formica. 



c v3 From 



