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VI. Report upon the Aculeate Hymenoptera of the Islands 

 of St. Vincent and Grenada, with additions to the 

 Parasitic Hymenoptera and a List of the described 

 Hymenoptera of the West Indies. By WiLLlAM H. 

 AsHMEAD, Assistant Curator U.S. National Museum. 



[Read March 21,st, 1900.] 



INTRODUCTION 



Having done so much work on the Terebrant Hyme- 

 noptera of St. Vincent and Grenada, it was with consider- 

 able pleasure that I received, early in June 1897, a letter 

 IVom Mr. George Murray, informing me that it was the 

 desire of the West Indies Natural History Exploration 

 Committee to transmit to me, to be worked up, the 

 Aculeate Hymenoptera collected by Herbert H. Smith in 

 these islands ; that in a few days he expected to leave on 

 an exploring expedition to the South Seas to be gone all 

 summer, and if I could do the work to send my reply to 

 Sir George Hampson, of the British Museum, who would 

 see that the material was promptly forwarded. 



I was, of course, very desirous of accepting this offer, 

 and thus round off my studies on the Hymenopterous 

 fauna of the West Indies. It was not until some time in 

 August, however, that I saw my way clear to accept this 

 offer, when I wrote to Sir George Hampson, my accept- 

 ance, and the material in the Aeuleata, as well as much 

 additional material in the Terelrantia, was forwarded to 

 me at the National Museum, and the present extensive 

 contribution is the result. 



In this connection it may be well to state that I have 

 incorporated here not only all of tins new material, but 

 also considerable material in special groups, retained from 

 previous sendings, which the late Dr. C. V. Riley had 

 intended to work up, namely, the Eupehninm, Agaonidm, 

 species in the genus Scelio, and the Microgasterinm, but 

 which he was never able to even touch up to the time of 

 the unfortunate accident that resulted in his untimely 

 death. 



TRANS. ENT. SOC. LOND. 1900. — PART II. ( JULY ) 



