468 Mr. F. Smltli's Revision 



is attached to C. lucidula. Fabriclus, in describing liia 

 species Chrysis amethystina, gives the locahty New Hol- 

 land, and says in the Banksian Museum, his description 

 distinguishing it as a species of the modern genus Stilhum; 

 " Thorax viridis, scutello prominulo, concavo." In the 

 British Museum are specimens also from Australia ; the 

 size of the " ametkystina'''' is exactly four and a half lines, 

 French measure ; it is of an entirely blue colour, in this 

 respect resembling many examples from Africa. Dahl- 

 bom, relying on the authority of a specimen which he 

 saw in the Museum at Kiel, which, if named by Fabri- 

 cius, it was certainly subsequent to his visit to England, 

 when he named the insect preserved in the Banksian 

 collection, and, trusting to his memory, he gave the name 

 " amethy stinci'' to a species belonging to the genus Chrysis, 

 as now restricted. The habitat New Holland may pos- 

 sibly have influenced some Hymenopterists to believe it 

 probable that the locality given is an error ; such is cer- 

 tainly not the case, as other examples have been received 

 from that country ; neither Stilhum nor Chrysis appear to 

 be generally abundant there, — I have only seen two of the 

 former and five of the latter genus ; of the genera Cleptes, 

 Omalus, Hedychrum, Euchraus, or oi Parnopes, I have 

 not seen a single species from Australia. 



The habits of some of the species of the family have 

 been carefully observed and recorded ; these belong to the 

 genera Hedychrum, Chrysis, and one or two other genera 

 found in Europe ; of the habits of exotic species very 

 little has, to my knowledge, been observed. In the 

 British Museum are several nests of Eumenes tinctur, 

 sent from Port Natal by Herr Gueinzius, Avho bred 

 from them specimens of Stilhum amethystina, the parasite 

 of the wasp. Parnopes carnea is known to be the 

 parasite of Bemhex rostrata. Elampus Panzeri I have 

 observed entering the burrows of Mimes a hicolor. Some 

 of the species of the genus Hedychrum do not appear to 

 confine their attacks to a particular species ; Hedychrum 

 lucidulum is pai-asltic on species of Ilalicti ; this habit 

 I have observed myself, having on one occasion found 

 it numerous, entering the burrows of Halictus leuco- 

 zonius. Hedychrum ardens is the parasite of Mimesa 

 wiicolor, and Hedychrum roseum is j^arasitic on the larva 

 of Tachytespo?npilifor mis, and also, according to Shuckard, 

 upon that of Arpactus tumidus. Omalus auratus is said 

 by Latreille to be parasitic on Philanthus triangulum; 



