ON THE EUROPEAN SPECIES OP THE GENUS SMICRA. 243 



Two unnamed British specimens are in the Museum, from 

 J. F. Stephens's collection; the species is also recorded from 

 Sweden and Italy. After some hesitation, I have decided to 

 regard melanaris, biguttafa, and Macleanii as being probably 

 synonyms of one species. 



5. Sinicra (?) xanthostigma. 

 Chalcis xanthostigma, Dalm. ; Spilochalcis xanthostigma, 

 Thorns. 



Black, with yellow spots on the back of the thorax and on 

 the legs. 



In the British Museum, from England and Sweden. This 

 species was confounded by Walker with the last, and is probably 

 referred to as " Smiera melanaris. Walk.," in the 'Nomenclature 

 of Hymenoptera.' It is the type of the genus Spilochalcis, 

 Thorns., which is distinguished from Smiera by having a distinct 

 spine at the end of the intermediate tibi^, which is wanting in 

 Smiera. The other species differ a little among themselves in 

 the structure of the antenna and hind femora, but hardly to 

 a sufficient extent to make it desirable to subdivide them, 

 especially as very little is yet known of the foreign species, which 

 appear to be most numerous in South America. 



The five European species may be tabulated as follows : — 



A. Thorax black, unspotted. 



B. Petiole yellow. 1. mijrifex. 



BB. Petiole black. 



C. Hind femora red, tipped with black. 



2. sispes. 3. microstigma. 

 CC. Hind femora black, spotted with yellow or whitish. 



4. melanaris. 

 AA. Thorax black, with yellow spots. 5. xanthostigma. 



Kirchner, in his ' Catalogus Hymenopterorum Europaea ' 

 (Vienna, 1867), enumerates six species of Smiera, as follows: — 



1. S.fulvescens, Walk. England. 



2. S. melanaria. Walk. England. 



3. S. nigrifex. Walk. England. 



4. S. sispes, F. (No locality given). 



5. S. subpunctata. Walk. England. 



6. S. xanthostigma, Dalm. Sweden, Vienna. 



