XII. NOTES ON THE NEUROPTERA 



IN THE COLLECTION OF THE 



INDIAN MUSEUM. 



By James G. Needham. 



The observations of the following pages are based on the 

 study of a large series of miscellaneous Neuroptera belonging to the 

 Indian Museum, sent to me by the Superintendent, Dr. Annandale, 

 for study. With these were sent a considerable number of specimens 

 from the collection of the Imperial Entomologist, Mr. Maxwell- 

 Lefroy. Together, these specimens illustrate the greater part of 

 the described Neuropterous fauna of the Indian empire. The 

 entire known fauna in the Mantispidge was represented : the 

 smallest proportion of it was present in the Odonata.^ This latter 

 group has been collected a little more systematically perhaps than 

 any other, but the specimens reside mainly in the collections of the 

 European specialists who have described them, or in the British 

 Museum. 



Of the true Neuroptera (Neuroptera s. str.) most of the Indian 

 forms have been described by three British naturalists : by Francis 

 Walker, in the Catalogue of Neuropterous Insects of the British 

 Museum, and in vol. v of the Transactions of the Entomological 

 Society of London; by J. O. Westwood in his Cabinet of Oriental 

 Entomology ; and by Robert McLachlan in various scattered papers. 

 Nearly all of Westwooci's species are in the collection, including 

 his Ascalaphus ohscurus, a species long considered lost. 



The Perlidse of the collection are mostly new to science, which 

 is not surprising, since but one species, was known from the whole 

 of India. The Odonata, Ephemeridse, and Myrmeleonidae of the 

 collection are mostly well known, and in the Hemerobiidse, Chryso- 

 pidse, Ascalaphidae, and Perlidse occur the most interesting new 

 forms and all the new genera. 



In the collection were a few Termites which, for want of any 

 knowledge of the group, I was compelled to return unnamed. And 

 likewise, not knowing the Trichoptera, with Dr. Annandale's con- 

 sent, I turned them over to Dr. C Betten for study, and his report 

 on them follows further on (p. 231). I have to express my grati- 

 tude to Dr. Annandale for his patience in waiting through the 



' By far the greater part of the collection of the Indiau Museum was named 

 some years ago by the late Baron de Selys Longchamps, and therefore was not sent 

 to Prof. Needham. — N. Annandale. 



