370 Mr. Westwood on Embia, a Genus of Insects 



portion of this work, no characters were given of the insects figured in it. In 

 the Families Naturelles du Regne Animal, 1825, we however find a second genus 

 introduced into the family Tennitince by Latreille, under the name of Embia, 

 with the short observation, "Voisin du precedent (Termes) mais k antennes 

 differentes*." In the 2nd edition of the Rkgne Animal-f this second genus is 

 referred to Savigny's insect, with the observation, " Des insectes des contr^es 

 meridionales de I'Europe et d'Afrique, analogues aux Termes ; mais a tete 

 plus large que le corselet, k tarses de trois articles, a ailes ne d6passant gu^re 

 I'abdomen, on nulles, ayant les pieds comprimes, les deux jambes anterieures 

 plus larges, sans yeux lisses, et dont le corselet est alonge, forment le genre 

 que j'ai indique sous le nom d'Enibie (Embia) ; il est figur6 dans le grand 

 ouvrage sur I'Egypte." 



I know not upon what authority Latreille here indicated Europe as the 

 locality of this insect ; it will be seen, however, that other species of the genus 

 inhabit both Asia and South America: neither can I decide from what ma- 

 terials he was led to state that they are sometimes wingless, as in Savigny's 

 figures they are represented with wings ; from analogy, however, they may be 

 fairly considered as occurring without these organs in those states in which 

 the Termites are destitute of them. Moreover, in Savigny's figures and in 

 the other species the head is neither larger nor broader than the thorax, and 

 the posterior femora are as large as the anterior. No further account has 

 been published of this genus ; the subsequent description is consequently 

 entirely drawn up from Savigny's figures, the accuracy of which no one will 

 venture to doubt, and which I have added to my plate. Of the second species, 

 a magnified figure was published in Mr. Griffith's English translation of the 

 Regne Animal under the name of " Embius ? brasiliensis, G. R. Gray," with 

 the observation, " We insert a figure of a singular insect, which bears some 

 similarity to the genus Embia, but differs in having the antennae as long as the 

 body, the thorax much longer and more separate from the head, which is 

 rounded posteriorly, the terminal joints of the palpi rather larger ; it therefore 

 may be formed into a distinct subgenus, which Mr. Gray has named Olyntha. 

 The species is from South America, therefore is named brasiliensis." Unfor- 

 tunately no indication of the natural size of this insect was given ; and the 



* p. 437. t Vol. V. p. 256, note. 



