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XVII. Descriptions of new Species of the Genus Pison ; 

 and a Synonymic List of those previously described. 

 By Frederick Smith^ V.-P. and late Pres. Ent. 

 Soc. 



[Bead 7tb June, 1869.] 



In the year 1837^ Shuckard published an excellent paper 

 in the second volume of the Transactions of the Society 

 (p. 73) on this genus of fossorial insects ; at that time he 

 could only refer to two species that had been previously 

 described ; to these he added seven, and as three of these 

 were not in his own collection, we may conclude that 

 thirty-two years ago, nine species only were to be found 

 in the Collections of British Entomologists. These 

 species were placed in two divisions, in consec|uence of 

 some difference observable in the neuration of the wings ; 

 for the second division he proposed the name of Pisoni- 

 tus, and this name I have used generically, and have 

 added two species to those placed in that division by 

 Shuckard. To the genus Pison I have added twenty- 

 five species, thirteen of which are described in the pre- 

 sent paper. A third division of these insects I have in- 

 cluded in a new genus, Parapison, and have described 

 three species. Thus, the nine species included in Shuck- 

 ard's monograph, and forming his genus Pison, will now 

 be increased to forty-three. 



Nothing has been published on the habits of these 

 insects that I am aware of, but a paper by Mr. Home 

 will shortly be read at the Zoological Society in which 

 an ample history of them will appear ; I can only here 

 state that these insects are nest-builders, and that they 

 construct cells similar to those of Pemphredon, and store 

 them with spiders for their young. 



Fam. NYSSONID^, Leach. 

 Genus Pison, Jurine. 



1, Pison ater, Spinola. 



Alyson ater, Spin. Ins. Ligur. ii. 253; Pison ater, 

 Shuck. Trans. Ent. Soc. ii. 75. ? . 



Pison Jurinii, Spin. Ins. Ligur. ii. 256. 



Taehyhulus niger, Latr. Gen. Crust, et Ins. iv. 75. 

 Hah. — Europe. In F. Smith's collection. 



TEANS. ENT. SOC. 1869. PART IV. (aUGUST) . Z 



