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Hymen apterous Genus Scleroderma. 
Scleroderma out of the house except on one occasion. This was 
at a place some hours distant from Previsa, where, dining under 
a fig-tree, two specimens of the large black species (.S', picea ) were 
found upon some of the party. This was in the middle of May. 
I have met with the others from March to September, and the 
small castaneous species in June and July. I never could discover 
the habitat of the Sclerodermce. I have had them come on my paper 
whilst writing, and the ceilings being of wood, and perforated with 
minute holes, I fancied that they might have dropped from thence, 
but I never could obtain a single specimen by examining the wood- 
work in the most careful manner.” 
Mr. Saunders has also brought to England specimens of two 
species of minute winged Hymenoptera, which differ materially 
from those regarded in the commencement of this paper as the 
males of Scleroderma. Upon these insects Mr. Saunders has 
communicated the following observations : 
“Of the winged specimens, which I always considered to belong 
to the Scleroderma, these were in like manner taken in and about 
my house at Previsa, the larger one being captured close outside. 
They were found towards the end of August and in September. 
I am the more inclined to believe these, or at least the smaller 
ones, to be winged specimens of the Scleroderma, as I never met 
with any other insect which could be supposed to supply their 
place ; and I hardly think, under all the circumstances, that they 
could have escaped me altogether.” 
Without presuming to assert that these insects are not the males 
of Scleroderma, I can scarcely consider such to be the case, for the 
following reasons. In the general form of the elongated body, 
and especially of the collar, these winged specimens, it is true, 
very greatly resemble the females. They have also 13-jointed 
antennae ; but they differ, inter se, in the veins of the wings. The 
largest specimen belongs to my genus Epyris, the basal veins of 
the wings not extending so far as in E. niger, and the ocelli are 
very nearly obsolete. The other two are smaller, with large ocelli, 
but without any radial branch to the upper wings, which have 
only the basal cells of Epyris. As I possess females of the genus 
Epyr'is with 13-jointed antennae, furnished with wings, and armed 
with a long sting exserted in dying, and in which the ocelli are 
smaller than in the other sex, I am induced to believe that the 
apterous Sclerodermce cannot be the females of these winged spe- 
cimens, but which have winged partners. Having, however, col- 
lected numerous materials relative to the genus Epyris, which I 
propose to lay before the Society, I shall defer the description of 
