( li ) 



" As there does not appear to be a complete or clear account 

 of tlie genital armature of the male ant in the English language, 

 and as there seems to be considerable difference of opinion 

 among Hymenopterists as to what the parts which make up 

 the genitalia are called, and in what way they are connected 

 with each other, I thought it might be useful if I made a few 

 remarks on the subject, treating it from both an anatomical 

 and a historical point of view. 



" To illustrate these remarks I have prepared a chart, some 

 rough sketches, and some dissections. 



"As to the terminology, I agree with our secretary, my 

 friend Mr. Wheeler, that one should not be tied down by the 

 laws of priority as in nomenclature, but on the other hand 

 one should not invent, or use, new names for the different 

 parts without any sufficient reason, as this only adds to the 

 difficulties of the unfortunate student in the future. Neither 

 should one accept the attempted reforms of others nor adopt 

 any names, or any particular author's terminology, until a 

 study of the subject has been made and it is seen that the 

 author in question has good reasons for his views. 



" The following is the terminology adopted by me in my book 

 on the British ants which I hope will be published shortly. 



" The Annular Lamina is the basal ring which lies in front of 

 the other appendages, and is situated under the 9th dor. seg. 



" The External Paramera consist of the outer and inter- 

 mediate pairs of appendages. 



" The outer pair are the Stipites which act as claspers, 

 and are often furnished with hairs. In some genera the 

 upper parts of the stipites consist of semicircular plates, 

 which are called the Squamulae. These look as if they 

 were separate plates applied to the stipites, but this is 

 not the case as they are actually part of them. 



" The median pair are known as the Volsellae, these are 

 sometimes more or less divided into two pairs, they then 

 become the Laciniae and the Volsellae, but as pointed out 

 by Emery in many species they are incapable of being dis- 

 tinguished. 



" The Volsellae and Laciniae also probably act as claspers. 



" The Internal Paramera consist of the innermost pair 



