344 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



smaller size than the females, are purplish metallic in colour, 

 and the females bluish or violet. This may be a local variety of a 

 male imported in the timber posts, in which I found it. Donacia 

 sericea, L. — Is most variable ; I have not a pair alike in colour oj 

 both sexes ; cannot remember seeing a pair in which male and 

 female were alike in tint, coupled. I have pairs as follows: — 



1. ^ , violet, paired with $ , coppery. 



2. (J , black „ 5 , coppery. 



3. S', bright green ,, J, brassy. 



4. ^, deep purple ,, $, bright green. 



In Ehyncophora, the various species of Polydrosus, Strophosomus, 

 Hypera, &c., vary greatly from dark to light specimens." — (T. H. 

 Hall, in litt., July 23, 1889.) 



Calosoma ivilcoxl, an American species, presents an interesting 

 variety, as I learn from Dr. John Hamilton. The type is a very 

 green insect, with the margin of the thorax and elytra golden ; 

 but Dr. Hamilton found a specimen in which the green was 

 replaced by purple-black, and the golden by purple-blue. 



With regard to the Hymenoptera, Mr. Aslimead has kindly 

 written me as follows : — " The dimorphic forms in the Cynipidse 

 are nearly always paler than the sexual forms, i.e., honey-yellow, 

 brownish yellow, or reddish- brown ; the sexual form usually 

 being black or brown. Cynipids, placed in the genera Biorhiza 

 and Acraspis, comprise only females of some unknown sexual 

 form, so that it must be the females that depart from the 

 original type, and not the males. The female cynipid certainly 

 cannot represent the ancient type, i.e., the agamic form cannot, 

 as it is a degraded form, and necessarily must be the result of 

 some change in environment— either climatological or food- 

 supply. As far as my observations go, it is usually the female 

 hymenopter that is the most variable, and the male the most 

 persistent, although my observations are too meagre to generalise 

 upon."— (W. H. Ashmead, in litt., April 21, 1889.) These 

 observations are exceedingly interesting, as bearing upon the 

 question whether the male or female is usually the oldest type in 

 insects. 



In previous parts of this paper, I have referred to the so-called 

 "hermaphrodite" insects (Entora. 26), and objected to the term 

 hermaphrodite as used in this sense. Mr. Jenner Weir has 

 written in reply to some of my objections : — "I quite agree with 

 you that, properly speaking, the word hermaphrodite should be 

 more restricted in its meaning ; but you must recollect that it 

 means a union in one individual of the attributes of Venus 

 (Aphrodite) and Hermes (Mercury) ; not, therefore, as you say. 

 Si functional bisexual animal." Nevertheless, the term is commonly 

 used in zoology to mean a functionally bisexual animal, as, for 

 example, a snail (Helix) ; and if we are to call the apparently 

 bisexual Lepidoptera hermaphrodites, we must have a new term 



