A'lU PREFACE. 



five great groups or subfamilies into wliicli the Ichneu- 

 MONID^ are primarily divided, namely, the Ptmplin^, the 

 species of which are o£ great size and comparatively easy to 

 discriminate ; the Tryphoninje, which are very poorly repre- 

 sented, owing to the scarcity of their Tenthredinid hosts ; 

 and the Ophionin.e, which have proliably been largely over- 

 looked at present. That there will be found comparatively 

 few species of this family in the vast extent of India, when 

 adequately investigated, or at least that very few of them 

 are abundant over extensive areas, I am led to believe, by 

 the constant recurrence of the same species in every con- 

 signment received. That the Ichneumonin^ and CnYPTiNiE 

 are more diversified I am fully persuaded, and they are 

 consequently reserved for a separate volume, since the 

 intricacies of their structure and affinities need more exact 

 investigation and expenditure of labour than could be 

 bestowed upon them in the time available. 



Material has been somewhat scanty, yet all-sufficient to 

 render the two years mainly spent in the preparation of the 

 present volume very busy ones. The specimens that have 

 passed beneath my lens total several thousands, and consti- 

 tute ten more or less distinct collections, emanating from 

 Ceylon and Tenasserim to the northern Himalayas, and 

 from Baluchistan and Peshawar to the Naga Hills of 

 Eastern Assam. Lieut.- Col. Bingham first placed in my 

 hands his collection, which was merged on his death with 

 that of the British Museum, every specimen of which I 

 have examined. Next came a large consignment from 

 the Agricultural Research Institute at Pusa, in Bengal ; 

 Lieut.-Col. Nurse entrusted to my care the whole of the 

 specimens amassed by him in the North-West districts ; 

 Mr. E. Ernest Green and Mr. 0. S. Wickwar forwarded 

 such specimens as they had captured in Ceylon ; and 

 Mr. T. Bainbrigge Fletcher kindly left his collection for 

 me at the British Museum. Latterly, at my request. 



