46 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



THE GALLS OF CYNIPS KOLLARI, AND THEIR 

 VARIOUS OCCUPANTS. 

 By T. R. Billups, F.E.S. 



The large, round, brownish yellow galls of Cyiiips kollari, 

 which for some years were known by the name of the "Devon- 

 shire gall," through having been first observed in the county of 

 Devon, have been so admirably described by Mr. Fitch, in a paper 

 read before the members of the Essex Field Club, October, 1881, 

 and again by Mr. Cameron, in his late monograph of the 

 * British Phytophagous Hymenoptera ' (Ray Society's Works), 

 that it would be superfluous to say one word more upon the 

 Cynipid or gall-maker, so I purpose confining my remarks to the 

 numerous and varied inhabitants reared by myself from the 

 galls during the years 1890, 1891, 1892. In the ' Entomologist ' 

 for 1872, Mr. Fitch records a long list of insects bred by the late 

 Mr. Weston. Many of the species mentioned in that list have 

 occurred with me, but having also reared various others not 

 previously recorded, it may perhaps be of interest to enumerate 

 afresh all the species bred by myself. 



The galls were all collected on Weybridge Common and 

 Chobham railway banks, from low stubby bushes, and it is only 

 fair to say that many of them were old galls, or apparently 

 empty ones ; hence the variety of lodgers, many of which, outside 

 the inquilines and parasites, had taken possession for pupation, 

 &c. ; in all 122 species were bred, belonging to no less than six 

 distinct orders, namely, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, 

 Coleoptera, Neuroptera, and Arachnoidea. These I purpose to 

 again subdivide into their different families as follows : — First, 

 the maker of the galls, Cynlps kollari, Htg. ; these were 

 numerous. Then the inquilines, or, as Mr. Fitch calls them, 

 true burglars ; of these we have no less than six species, 

 Synergus mekmopus, pallicornis, vulgaris, and facialis, Htg., also 

 reinhardi, Mayr ; these were in fair numbers, with the exception 

 of the first named, which is considered rare in this country ; I 

 had thirteen specimens. Another inquiiine, Ceroptres arator, 

 Htg., I again succeeded in rearing, having previously bred this 

 species in 1884 (see Proc. Ent. Soc. for that year) from kollari 

 galls ; Mr. Cameron then thinking I might have reared them from 

 the twig galls of Andricus noduli, I was pleased to again obtain 

 this rare species, in all some nine specimens, from the kollari, 

 and thus cleared up a doubt of long standing. The Chalcids 

 were very numerous, and amongst these beautiful parasites 

 were the following species : — Torymus regius, Nees = devoniensis, 

 Parfit, erucaruin, Ns., auratns, ahdominalis, Fons., and cyniphiduni, 

 Eatz., this later species being especially plentiful. Megastigmus 



