1917] Fossil Insects 13 



have been described. The Hst is not long enough to prove 

 much, but the series has a modern aspect. The ants include 

 species of Oecophylla, now especially characteristic of tropical 

 Asia and Australia; while the termites belong to the primitive 

 Australian genus Mastotermes. The wasp, assigned to the 

 Philanthidce, may perhaps belong to the Mutillidse (Myrmo- 

 sin£e), as Mr. S. A. Rohwer has suggested in correspondence. I 

 cannot recognize any of the species as being identical with those 

 in amber. A very large collection of these Gurnet Bay insects is 

 in the British Museum; and while the majority cannot be 

 determined, it is certain that among the 2,500 specimens there 

 are sufficient good ones to give us a fair idea of the fauna. I 

 examined 170 of these specimens and found twelve describable 

 new species, not including the Coleoptera, which were numerous. 

 At this rate, the whole collection may perhaps be expected to 

 yield at least 200 species. I described 33 species from the 

 Lacoe collection in the U. S. National Museum; these came 

 originally from the Brodie collection, which is now in the British 

 Museum. Although they were supposed to be "duplicates," 

 they were apparently selected with judgment, and as no serious 

 attempt has ever been made to sort the species among the 

 Gurnet Bay fossils, it is very probable that many of the Lacoe 

 series are not represented in the larger collection. All the 

 Gurnet Bay insects of which I have any knowledge were col- 

 lected many years ago by the Rev. P. B. Brodie, and I do not 

 know whether the deposit is still workable. Arrangements are 

 being made at the British Museum to have the Gurnet Bay 

 collection worked up by various specialists; Mr. Donisthorpe has 

 already undertaken the ants. 



Baltic amber is not the only source of amber insects. Amber 

 is found on the east coast of England, and specimens containing 

 insects are in the museum of Cambridge University. One piece 

 contains a couple of modern honey bees, and is, I fear, a fake; but 

 some of the others look genuine. The species still await critical 

 study and description. Shelf ord described some Blattids from 

 Miocene amber obtained at Stettin ; one of these he could not dis- 

 tinguish from the living Euthyrrhapha pacifica (Coquebert) , which 

 is at present found in South America, Africa and Polynesia. 

 Sicilian amber, also of Miocene age, and therefore much later 

 than Baltic amber, has yielded some very interesting insects, 

 especially a remarkable series of ants and a Meliponine bee. 



