THE ENTOMOLOGIST 
Vou. XLVII.] MARCH, 1914. [No. 610 
CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE 
BRITISH BRACONIDA. No. I. METEORIDA. 
By G. T Lyte, F.E.S. 
(PuateE I.) 
Waritine in 1898, the late George Carter Bignell, to whom 
we owe, perhaps, more of our knowledge of the British Braconide 
than to any other, mentions that the number of British students 
of the Ichneumonide during the nineteenth century would not 
amount to a dozen. As regards the Braconide, since Bignell 
published his South Devon list in 1901,* I am not aware of 
any literature having appeared on the subject in this country, 
with the exception of a few scattered notes in various periodicals, 
and Mr. Claude Morley’s papers which were published in the 
‘Entomologist’ for 1906, 1907, and 1908. 
There would seem to be several reasons for this neglect of a 
most interesting group, one being the want of a cheap text-book 
on the subject to encourage the young student, and another the 
fact that several authors have described new species from in- 
sufficient material, often from a single specimen, so that where 
species run so closely together and individuals vary so much, a 
certain amount of confusion has arisen. The Rev. T. A. 
Marshall, however, did much to dispel this in his excellent 
monograph, published in the Trans. Ent. Soc. 1885-1889, and 
even more in his three volumes on the Braconid comprised in 
‘Species des Hyménopteéres d’Kurope et d’Algérie,’ 1888-1901. 
During the past ten. years I have given a good deal of 
attention to the breeding of hymenopterous parasites, and 
although the work has been considerable I feel that the results 
have repaid me, as in no other way could a knowledge of the life- 
histories of the insects be obtained. I am also much indebted 
to various gentlemen who have been good enough to present me 
with specimens which they have bred, often, I fear, much to 
their disgust, and particularly to Mr. Claude Morley who has 
* ‘The Ichneumonide of 8. Devon,’ part 2, Braconide, Trans. Devons. 
for Advan. Sci., Lit. and Art. f 
ENTOM.—MARCH, 1914. G 
